Around the country, community employment, CE, workers do valuable work, especially in small towns and villages in rural Ireland. The work they do for Tidy Towns and making Ireland look better is commendable. Prior to 3 July 2017, those over 55 years were entitled to six years on that scheme. It was changed on 3 July so that thereafter a person would get three years, and if he or she took a year out, he or she could apply again. That was accepted. It was updated again in September 2019. On page 30 of the community employment procedures manual, the gospel of the Department which is given to every CE supervisor, it states that participants who started before 3 July 2017 are eligible to remain on the scheme for the six years. That was accepted by all. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the Department has decided not to accept its own rules. We now face situations where people who are eligible under the guidelines, the gospel that is given to the CE scheme supervisors, to stay on schemes for six years must take a year out and reapply. Will the Tánaiste approach the Department or contact the Minister and resolve this issue? The Department cannot have its bible of rules and regulations that everyone adheres to and six months or a year later try to move the goalposts. There are some 19,500 people on the scheme around the country and, unfortunately, about 1,500 to 2,000 vacancies. People adhered to all the regulations as did the supervisors who took them on. If the Department does not change its attitude, I believe it will be wide open to legal challenge. It would be common sense for the Tánaiste to speak to the Minister on this and to tell the Department to adhere to its own guidelines. I ask him to do so.

I will do that. I will contact with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, today or tomorrow to raise this. I agree that if the Department writes a set of guidelines it should follow them. I will definitely look into that and see what the situation is. I very much agree with the Deputy that community employment schemes, rural and urban alike, do really valuable work that needs to be done, whether it is Tidy Towns, meals-on-wheels, community centres or sports clubs. It also provides valuable work experience for people to help them get on a pathway to work, education or training. At the same time, it is important that we have churn and turnover, and that we do not have people staying on CE schemes for years and years or even for life because we need those opportunities to be made available to others and we need people to move on, using their experience of the CE scheme, to mainstream employment or other training and education opportunities. We do appreciate that for some, and there may be people who have difficulty holding down a job in the regular job market, that this can be a valuable alternative too. That is understood.

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. I agree with him wholeheartedly. Under the community employment procedures manual, it is called a saver clause. On page 30, it states:

Participants who commenced on CE prior to 3rd July 2017 will be entitled to remain under their existing CE eligibility rules, where this is to their advantage. If it is more advantageous to the person, the current criteria can be applied.

What is written in the manual is pretty much black and white. However for some reason, there are people in the Department trying to move the goalposts. As the Tánaiste rightly pointed out, it has been of huge help to people's mental health for them to be out there, helping their community, doing work in it, and perhaps for some, getting to say hello to people, helping work against rural isolation. I thank the Tánaiste for his reply and ask again that he get on to the Minister immediately to resolve this.

As I said, I will check out this with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, today or tomorrow. Hopefully I will get back to the Deputy with some clarity.

That concludes Leaders' Questions. I thank Deputies for co-operating on time.