The Government doesn't value the work of CE scheme workers

IT is not just rural areas that are affected by the loss of Community Employment Scheme (CE) employees but towns like Tralee, Killarney and Listowel as well, particularly when it comes to Tidy Towns projects.

CE workers play a key role in helping Tidy Town groups maintain their image and Tralee is among those set to lose CE workers.

In total, Friends of Able, which has 11 groups and 54 CE employees, and which includes Tidy Tralee Together, is set to lose up to 15 employees this year as they become ineligible for roles. They already have vacancies in their schemes for workers which they have yet to fill and fear that if the rules are not changed they may be unable to fill such a large number of places.

“It would leave us decimated. We depend on the schemes for us to carry out the work,” explained CE supervisor Ann Connolly. Funds for work will also become an issue as there is less funding if there is less CE scheme participants - another repercussion that will have widespread effects on the valuable work in the community.

Cllr Terry O’Brien, who works with the Irish Wheelchair Association, said that they depend on CE workers to support services, including transport of wheelchair users to disability centres or shopping and to provide assistance where needed. The Irish Wheelchair Association supports up to 35 service users but if they don’t have CE employees they will have to reduce this support.

“We are starting to see that we can’t fill the positions...These workers provide valuable services for little cost to the state and without them our services will be under strain.”