Scheme to give 5,000 people opportunities of placements

FIVE thousand long-term unemployed people are to benefit from short-term work opportunities in the community sector under a new scheme announced by the Minister for Social Protection, Éamon Ó Cuív yesterday.

The Tús programme will enable people unemployed for more than 12 months to be placed with community sector organisations to help with the delivery of their services from next March.

Mr Ó Cuív said the Government was committing €30 million to the new initiative in 2011 with the funding for Tús rising to €100m in the following year.