Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2015
208. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if her Department is not the employer of community employment supervisors, the reason it is in a position to issue instructions, targets, and criteria, which must be met. [25076/15]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, the Community Employment (CE) programme is under the remit of the Department of Social Protection (DSP) since the enactment of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2010.
Under the programme, DSP provides funding for local sponsoring organisations to provide training, upskilling and educational opportunities for jobseekers and other vulnerable groups in the community. This funding is granted under an annually renewable legal agreement/contract between the Sponsoring Organisation and the Department.
Article 1 of the CE Agreement provides that “the Sponsor shall agree to carry out the project only as described in the application submitted and in accordance with the terms and conditions of this agreement as set out above, and in accordance with the conditions and objectives of Community Employment as communicated by the Department of Social Protection from time to time.” This last clause pertains to the CE Procedures Manual issued by the Department and details how CE, as a programme, is to be administered by approved Sponsoring Organisations.
Under Article 3 of the CE Agreement, “The Sponsor shall at all times be an independent contractor for all purposes and the relationship of principal and agent shall not exist between the parties and all persons recruited by the Sponsor shall be their/her/his sole responsibility.” The supervisor and participants are legally in the employment of the local sponsoring organisation. Their contracts of employment list the Sponsor as the employer.
