Government to cut 13,000 FÁS places

THE Government is set to axe 13,000 community employment places before the end of the year.

The latest cost-cutting move will anger community and voluntary groups and further damage hopes of striking a new national pay deal.

An internal memo prepared by FÁS states the number of places on the scheme, aimed at bringing long-term unemployed people back to the workforce, will be cut from 28,000 to 15,000. The cuts mean a host of initiatives in marginalised communities will be placed under threat as they stand to lose workers available under the scheme.

Decreases in the scheme were agreed under the current national pay deal, which gave the green light for a reduction in numbers from 37,500 in 1999 to 28,000 by 2003, but a leaked FÁS memo indicates the scheme will be cut to 15,000, far below measures agreed under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness.

It spells out where the axe will fall in areas, such as cutting the number of lone parents employed by the scheme from 5,700 to 3,420.

Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said the move was a bid to virtually dismantle the scheme and would have a devastating impact on the most vulnerable workers in the State.

“Already cuts have been made, new worthwhile projects have been refused the go-ahead. The reality is that for budgetary reasons the community employment scheme is being gutted in 2003,” Mr Rabbitte said. “As in many other areas of public life, such as health and education, it is the disadvantaged who are being asked to foot the bill for the economic problems that have been created by Government mismanagement and incompetence.”

The Government, however, points out that there are currently 21,600 long-term unemployed people, a reduction of 70%. This means there are more community employment places than there are long-term unemployed, while many low-skilled jobs continue to be filled by workers from outside the country.

The Department of Enterprise insists no decision has been made over the scheme’s future and the FÁS review had not yet been completed. It says there is no question of any cuts to ring-fenced employment places, in areas such as drug treatment and child care services for unemployed parents joining the labour market.

However, the department acknowledges that other places on the scheme will be considered in the “context of current budgetary constraints”.

Mr Rabbitte has now called on the Government to come clean on its plans for the scheme as talks get under way for a new national pay deal.

“I hope that guarantees will be sought and received that this vitally important community asset will not be allowed to fall victim of the cut and slash approach of Ministers McCreevy and Harney,” said Mr Rabbitte.