Call for community employment to be extended to protection applicants

In a letter to social protection minister Heather Humphreys (pictured), Nick Henderson, chief executive of the council, said people with labour access permission are “disadvantaged jobseekers and should be considered as such”. Photo: Sasko Lazarov / Photocall Ireland

Community employment (CE) schemes should be extended to international protection applicants who hold work permits to increase participation in the workforce, a representative group has said.

The Irish Refugee Council added that these individuals are the “hidden unemployed” and schemes such as this could help them integrate into their local communities.

The CE programme seeks to help people who are long-term unemployed or otherwise disadvantaged to get back to work through part-time and temporary jobs.

However, asylum seekers who hold a work permit are ineligible for the programme as they are not in receipt of the required payments, such as job seekers’ allowance.

The Irish Refugee Council has called for the scheme to be extended to these applicants, by recognising the daily expenses allowance as an eligible payment.

In a letter to social protection minister Heather Humphreys, Nick Henderson, chief executive of the council, said people with labour access permission are “disadvantaged jobseekers and should be considered as such”.

“By the time a protection applicant receives their work permit, they have been unable to work for at least six months. Many are also long-term (12 months +) unemployed," the letter states.

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Mr Henderson said international protection applicants face particular disadvantages in the labour market including language barriers, deskilling, the impact of trauma, and racial bias.

“Supported employment such as Community Employment, which includes one-to-one support and individual training is particularly well suited to support protection applicants integrate into the Irish labour market,” he said.

“Permitting protection applicants to enrol on CE schemes empowers them to play an active role in their local communities and provides a valuable service to the community."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Social Protection said that it “notes” the correspondence from the Irish Refugee Council and will “respond accordingly”.

The Irish Refugee Council’s call comes as Minister Humphreys announced on Friday the provision of an additional 2,639 places on CE and Tús schemes nationwide.

Minister Humphreys acknowledged the impact Covid-19 has had on towns and villages.

“But as we emerge from this pandemic, we are determined to support our citizens who find themselves out of work in every way possible,” she added.