Sinn Féin Finance Spokesperson Deputy Pearse Doherty has reacted angrily to figures released to him by the Minister for Social Protection which reveal that Donegal was amongst the counties worst affected by community employment (CE) scheme cuts over the last five years, with the number of projects in the county having dropped by almost 18 per cent going from 62 projects in 2012 down to 51 last year.
Commenting on the figures, Deputy Doherty said:
“As everyone knows, Community Employment Schemes are invaluable to the communities in which they are based as well as being of huge benefit in many respects to all those who participate in the various projects sponsored through the scheme.
“However, this fact has yet to be acknowledged by government and the work carried out by CE Scheme participants and supervisors is hugely undervalued and the figures released to me by the Department highlight this clearly.
“In fact, between 2012 and 2016, Donegal experienced almost an 18 per cent reduction in the number of projects supported through the Community Employment Scheme, having lost 11 projects over that five year period.
“This places Donegal amongst the top five counties for Community Employment Scheme cuts both in terms of the number of project losses as well as the overall percentage reduction of projects, with only Limerick having performed worse on both counts.
“And while some counties have actually enjoyed modest increases in the number of CE Scheme projects over those years, the majority however continue to suffer huge project loses, not least of all Donegal.
“The problem of project amalgamations is also resulting in some participants being excluded from accessing the programme, despite having contributed to the scheme in the past.
“Also of some concern is the fact that between 2014 and 2016, the overall numbers of people either participating in CE Scheme projects or acting as project supervisors has dropped from 24,645 down to 23,733.
“I have already raised this issue with the Minister over recent weeks, and I have also sought data in relation to the total number of project amalgamations which have t
