CE participants to get longer on schemes while planning rules to be relaxed

THE three-year time limit on people participating in community employment schemes is expected to be relaxed by the Minister for Enterprise, Micheál Martin.

Also last night, it emerged that rural planning guidelines, relaxing rules on one off housing, will be implemented into planning law by the end of the year.

At a busy meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party, the Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, said he wanted to sign off on the planning guidelines before Christmas.

Minister Martin told the weekly meeting of FF TDs and Senators that he was finalising his reforms of the community employment programme.

Responding to a motion from FF TDs John Cregan, Billy Kelleher and John Curran, Minister Martin indicated there would be greater flexibility on the three year cap to allow people to continue in the scheme.

Following the meeting, focusing on social welfare and enterprise aspects of the upcoming budget, Government Chief Whip Tom Kitt said last night that Minister Martin was determined to do something in the whole area of CE schemes.

The Minister for Social Welfare, Séamus Brennan, told the meeting that he was concentrating on carers, child poverty, widows, the elderly and anomalies in the social welfare system.