Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 October 2018
215. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the position regarding contractual, pay and pension concerns raised by community employment scheme supervisors; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42668/18]
View answerMy Department provides a range of activation supports and programmes catering for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market, one of which is the Community Employment (CE) programme.
CE schemes are typically sponsored by voluntary and community organisations wishing to benefit the local community. As the employers, these sponsoring organisations contract with my Department, on an annual basis, to provide job seekers and other vulnerable groups with good quality work experience and training qualifications to support their progression into employment.
Community Employment (CE) scheme supervisors are employees of private companies in the community and voluntary sector that receive public funding. They are not employees of my Department or public servants, and as such were not subject to pay reductions under the provisions of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) which only applied to public servants.
As the Deputy is aware these concerns were raised and are being examined by a Community Sector High Level Forum, chaired by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. A number of Departments including my own Department are represented on this group, as are the unions and Pobal.
A detailed scoping exercise was carried out on the pensions issue with input from the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) on the potential costs of providing Exchequer support for the establishment of such a pension scheme for employees across the Community and Voluntary sector in Ireland. The exercise clearly illustrated that this matter presents very significant issues for the Exchequer, with a potential cost to the State of €188 million per annum in respect of funding to enable an employer pension contribution in State funded Community and Voluntary organisations, excluding any provision for immediate ex-gratia lump sum payment of pension as sought, which could, depending on the size of the sector, entail a further Exchequer cost of up to €318 million.
I am very conscious that while the issues relate to Community Employment supervisors and assistant supervisors, such individuals comprise of just one small group within the wider Community and Voluntary sector. Any provision of State funding for such a scheme in respect of those employees could potentially give rise to claims for similar schemes on the part of those in the broader sector, thus crystallising the potential level of liability. Any solution to this issue will require careful consideration, in particular the implications for scarce Exchequer resources.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
