The Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning, PEIL for short, was the only ESF programme in Ireland for the 2014 to 2020 period. It was formally approved by the European Commission in February 2015 and was launched in April of that year.
Originally, PEIL involved investment of €1.037 billion over the period 2014-2020, comprising €484.5 million from the European Social Fund (ESF), an equal amount from the Exchequer and just over €68 million from the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI).
In 2021, an additional investment from the EU Commission was allocated to the PEIL Operational Programme of €88.3m under REACT-EU (Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing the total programme amount to €1.125 billion.
Most recently, PEIL was amended to programme Ireland’s 2022 tranche of REACT EU funding, resulting in the creation of a new priority in the programme to assist with the basic needs and support of persons granted temporary protection, bringing the total programme allocation to €1.179bn.
Priority Areas
In line with the investment priorities set out in the ESF Regulation, the key areas chosen for investment in Ireland for 2014-2020 revolved around activation of the unemployed, social and labour market inclusion, education and youth employment.
The PEIL contained five Priority Axes, including Technical Assistance, which funded the operations, administration and communication of the programme. The Priority Axes were as follows:
To view the activities supported under the PEIL please click here. To view the latest version of PEIL Operational Programme please click here.
Youth Employment Initiative
The Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) was created to tackle the high levels of youth unemployment and implement the Youth Guarantee by providing job, education and training opportunities to young people aged 15-24.
Funding was provided to EU Member States where youth unemployment was higher than 25% in 2012. In Ireland, unemployment figures for the under 25’s had reached a high of 31.9% in 2012, meeting the threshold for YEI funding.
The YEI in Ireland was delivered using ESF support. The Youth Employment target group is young people under the age of 25 not in employment, education, or training. In order to focus the ESF and YEI funding directly, a separate Priority Axis (Priority 4) was established in the PEIL 2014-2020. The ESF supported under 25’s in the following YEI activities: Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) Scheme, JobPlus, Youthreach, Defence Forces Employment Support Scheme, Community Training Centres, and the Youth Employment Support Scheme.