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39. Deputy John Deasy   asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will change the eligibility criteria for the position of Tús supervisors to allow FÁS community employment scheme supervisors to apply for these positions. [13131/11]
40. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason she has prevented FÁS community employment scheme supervisors from applying for the position of supervisors under the Tús scheme; if it is necessary to maintain the strict eligibility criteria; her rationale for preventing FÁS community employment supervisors from applying for the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13132/11]
Minister for Social Protection (Deputy Joan Burton): I propose to take Questions Nos. 39 and 40 together.
Tús is a community work placement initiative which will provide up to 5,000 short-term, quality work opportunities for those who are unemployed for more than a year. Some €30 million has been provided in the Department’s Estimates in 2011 to fund the roll-out of the initiative. This initiative is delivered through the network of local development companies and Údarás na Gaeltachta in Gaeltacht areas. Participants will, in the first instance, be identified by the Department for Social Protection by applying the following conditions:
A person must be unemployed and in receipt of a jobseeker’s payment for at least 12 months, and
Currently be in receipt of jobseekers allowance, and
[582]Be fully unemployed.
The purpose of Tús is to focus on those people who are long-term unemployed. For this reason, eligibility is at present confined to those on the Live Register for 12 months and in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance. These provisions are to ensure a targeted approach to those currently affected by long-term unemployment. Persons already in employment are not eligible for these positions. The operation of the scheme, including eligibility criteria, will be kept under review and will inform the evaluation process in due course.
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