A massive cut in the number of places available on Community Employment (CE) schemes is outside the terms of the current social partnership agreement, according to The Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed (INOU).
In a Dáil reply to Labour TD Ms Roisín Shorthall this week, the minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, said she expected 24,000 people to be in CE schemes by the end of the year. The INOU say this figure is well below the figure of 28,000 agreed as part of Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF).
INOU general secretary Eric Conroy said today: "This is far below the minimum number of CE scheme workers agreed in the PPF".
"All of a sudden, An Tánaiste seems to have decided to cut 4,000 CE scheme places .. without consultation with the INOU and other members of the Standing Committee on the Labour Market," Mr Conroy continued.
He said voluntary organisations and charities would seriously affected by the loss of the 4,000 part-time workers and that they will be seeking clarification from the Tánaiste tomorrow.