Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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419. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if there are any plans to ease the criteria for someone who is unemployed, or retired, who wants to go on a Tús/CE scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4719/25]

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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420. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reasons that someone who is six months unemployed cannot be accepted onto the Tús scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4720/25]

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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421. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the age criteria can be reviewed to go on or stay on a Tús scheme, should an individual meet the other criteria and wish to do so; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4721/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 419 to 421, inclusive, together.

Work programmes such as Tús and Community Employment (CE) are initiatives that enable the long-term unemployed to contribute to their communities whilst upskilling themselves for prospective future employment.

One of the qualifying conditions to avail of the opportunities provided by Tús is that a person must be in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment and have been unemployed for at least 12 months. The Tús initiative helps break the cycle of long-term unemployment by providing a work routine and valuable work experience.

The duration of the Tús contract, which is a maximum of 12 months, is set to ensure that the available placements are open to jobseekers that are long-term unemployed and on the live register, ensuring that Tús fits in with the objectives set out in the Government’s Pathways to Work strategy. Participation on employment schemes derives from having an underlying entitlement to a working age payment, so funding for Tús and CE participants ends when they reach the standard State Pension age, which is currently 66.

The Department keeps all aspects of its employment and activation programmes under continuous review to ensure that they have the best outcomes for participants. In this context, a number of reforms and enhancements to the schemes have been implemented over recent times and in response to the current economic climate. The changes to the schemes have included:

Extension of the eligibility criteria for Tús to include persons in receipt of Disability Allowance, providing them with immediate access and no qualifying period required. The scheme has also been extended to provide immediate access to persons aged 18 years who are in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance and who have been assessed as having a low probability of finding employment.

Changes have been introduced to the CE eligibility criteria, extending CE to the adult dependents of those in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance and also to people aged over 50 who are signing for credits. CE participants who reach 60 years of age while participating on the scheme can remain on CE until they reach state pension age (66).

I wish to re-iterate that my Department is fully committed to the future of employment support programmes and will continue to support and improve the schemes for the valuable contribution being made to local communities through the provision of services and the benefit of eligible participants.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.