Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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57. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to review the age criteria for qualification for community employment schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18804/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The aim of the Community Employment programme is to enhance the employability of disadvantaged and unemployed people by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their communities.  The programme helps break the cycle of unemployment and improve a person’s chances of returning to the labour market. 

Community Employment is generally open to applicants aged between 21 and 66 years.  The general minimum age criterion of 21 for Community Employment has been set to ensure that, in the first instance, younger jobseekers engage with the range of other activation measures already in place for persons of school leaving age and beyond.  Certain vulnerable groups (e.g. persons with a disability, refugees, referred drug misusers and ex-offenders), are permitted to access Community Employment at 18 years of age. 

Community Employment is a working age activation scheme and participants who continue to be funded through the community employment scheme must be of working age.  As the Deputy will appreciate, if my Department continued to fund participants once they have reached the state pension age it would significantly impact on the opportunities for those people who are still of working age and also, would undermine the role of Community Employment as an active labour market programme. 

If the Deputy has a particular case and would like to provide more information on the matter raised, I will have my officials look at the case in question.