Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 February 2015
46. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will repeal section 247B of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act of 16 January 2012, which precludes community employment scheme participants from receiving the widow's/widower's pension, in view of the Minister for Finance's declaration that austerity is over. [6406/15]
View answerThere are no plans to allow new participants on the Community Employment (CE) programme to retain their original social welfare payments while employed on the scheme and receiving concurrent CE allowances. The main enactment of this measure was contained in Section 12 of the Social Welfare Act 2011. The main purpose of CE is to assist and support long-term unemployed and other vulnerable groups to gain the necessary skills and confidence with a view to gaining employment.
