The Labour Court recommended in July 2008 that an agreed pension scheme should be introduced for community employment (CE) scheme supervisors and assistant supervisors, and that such a scheme should be adequately funded by FÁS. This matter has been the subject of discussions between this Department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the unions representing CE supervisors. Implementation of the claim is not considered sustainable in light of the current and on-going fiscal environment and the requirement to contain and reduce public expenditure. The costs of the introduction of such a scheme are likely to be of the order of €3m per annum with retrospective costs of the order of at least €30m.
The Deputy should also note that FÁS and subsequently this Department is not the employer of CE supervisors and such employees are not public servants. Neither was FÁS a party to the Labour Court dispute on this matter. The responsibilities of the sponsoring organisations and the individuals concerned must be recognised when considering such pension provision arrangements.