FIANNA Fail has announced a plan to provide 25,000 places for long term unemployed people if it is returned to power after the election. The most radical aspect of the plan is to expand a successful pilot scheme pioneered by the Conference of Religious of Ireland from 1,000 places to at least 10,000.
The CORI inspired scheme provides meaningful work for unemployed people "at the going rate", usually the union negotiated industry norm, in the voluntary and community sectors.
Later today the Government is expected to announce its own proposals for creating an enlarged placement scheme based on the CORI model, following a highly favourable evaluation completed recently.
The CORI inspired project has been run by the associated Institute for Action and Research on Work and Employment for the past three years and was due to be wound up at the end of May.
Yesterday Fianna Fail's deputy leader, Ms Mary O'Rourke, said her party's programme would seek to maximise on the successful experience of the CORI project. The party leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, who sanctioned the CORI pilot project when he was Minister for Finance, said he had always believed it should be expanded "if it worked well".
Of the 25,000 placements envisaged by Fianna Fail, 10,000 will be in CORI type schemes, 13,000 in the community employment programme's part time jobs option, 1,000 in the community employment full time programme and 1,000 in CORI type part time job options.