Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 June 2014
324. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Social Protection if existing participants of a community employment scheme who are no longer eligible to participate in the scheme will continue to receive their payments until December 2014; the date in December 2014 when the payments will cease; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25497/14]
View answerAs part of the Budget 2012 measures, new entrants to the Community Employment (CE) scheme who commenced on or after 16 January 2012 were disqualified from simultaneously receiving their original social welfare payment and CE allowances under Section 12 of the Social Welfare Act 2011 (dual payments). This measure only affected those new CE entrants in receipt of One Parent Family Payment, Deserted Wife’s Benefit, Widow(er)s Pension, Illness Benefit, Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension and Blind Pension. Arising from this change, the new entrant participants receive CE allowances only, equivalent to their original payment plus €20.
However, persons who were already engaged on the CE scheme as at 16 January 2012 and who were receiving both CE allowances and their original social welfare payment, could continue to receive both their original social welfare payment, including adult and/or child dependant allowances, plus a CE Personal Rate allowance of €208. This dual payment situation was scheduled to be phased out over a three year period ending in December 2014. This phasing out would mainly be achieved by participants either exhausting their time on CE during the 3-year transition phase (after exiting CE they would remain on their original payment only).
Alternatively, if they left CE for the standard minimum 12-month gap between schemes and returned to CE subsequently, they would be treated as a new entrant and receive CE allowances only on recommencing the CE scheme. The CE participants who have remained on the scheme continuously since before 16 January 2012 and who have retained their dual payment will be notified in November 2014 by their respective social welfare payment scheme sections that if their CE participation extends beyond December 2014, their original social welfare payment will cease as of 31 December 2014 for the remaining duration of their CE placement. Their CE allowances will be adjusted accordingly for any adult and/or child dependants. Once they exit CE after December 2014, they can return to their original social welfare payment provided they still meet the underlying conditions for the scheme in question.
The following revised reply was received on 5 December 2014:
As part of the Budget 2012 measures, new entrants to the Community Employment (CE) scheme who commenced on or after 16 January 2012 were disqualified from simultaneously receiving their original social welfare payment and CE allowances under Section 12 of the Social Welfare Act 2011 (dual payments). This measure only affected those new CE entrants in receipt of One Parent Family Payment, Deserted Wife’s Benefit, Widow(er)s Pension, Illness Benefit, Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension and Blind Pension. Arising from this change, the new entrant participants receive CE allowances only, equivalent to their original payment plus €20.
However, persons who were already engaged on the CE scheme as at 16 January 2012 and who were receiving both CE allowances and their original social welfare payment, could continue to receive both their original social welfare payment, including adult and/or child dependant allowances, plus a CE Personal Rate allowance of €208. This dual payment situation was scheduled to be phased out over a three year period ending in December 2014. This phasing out would mainly be achieved by participants either exhausting their time on CE during the 3-year transition phase (after exiting CE they would remain on their original payment only).
Alternatively, if they left CE for the standard minimum 12-month gap between schemes and returned to CE subsequently, they would be treated as a new entrant and receive CE allowances only on recommencing the CE scheme. The CE participants who have remained on the scheme continuously since before 16 January 2012 and who have retained their dual payment will be notified in November 2014 by their respective social welfare payment scheme sections that if their CE participation extends beyond December 2014, their original social welfare payment will cease as of 31 December 2014 for the remaining duration of their CE placement. Their CE allowances will be adjusted accordingly for any adult and/or child dependants. Once they exit CE after December 2014, they can return to their original social welfare payment provided they still meet the underlying conditions for the scheme in question.
Note: The sentences in bold should read “This dual payment situation would be phased out over time. This would mainly be achieved by participants exhausting their time on CE (after exiting CE they would remain on their original payment only).”
