Written Answers Nos. 541-560
541. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has considered making persons currently on the pandemic unemployment payment eligible for community employment schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24165/21]
View answerCommunity Employment is a labour market activation programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people with an opportunity to engage in work experience and training opportunities within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis. The priority for my Department is to ensure that all employment and activation programmes have the best outcomes for participants. The focus of CE is on the cohort of long-term unemployed people currently on the Live Register. In order to qualify for CE, a number of conditions need to be satisfied including being in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment for a specific period, i.e. for twelve months or more.
Time spent in recipient of the pandemic unemployment payment can count towards the duration of unemployment required to be eligible for CE. However, the remaining CE qualifying criteria must also be satisfied, including the need for a candidate to be in receipt of an existing qualifying social welfare payment at the time of referral to a CE scheme.
While many persons currently in receipt of PUP will return to their previous employment once current Covid -19 restrictions ease, Government are very conscious of the need to provide activation and other employment supports for those currently in receipt of PUP whose jobs will not return, post Covid-19.
The Job Stimulus Package announced by Government in July 2020 included an additional 3,000 places for state employment programmes including CE and Tus. It is important that these measures are targeted at those furthest removed from the labour market; who have been unemployed for over a year, including time spent on the pandemic unemployment payment.
I continue to support and improve the programme for the benefit of long term unemployed CE participants, including those whose employment have been directly adversely affected by the pandemic.
542. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if the information submitted by a person (details supplied) for a widower’s contributory pension application will be accepted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24227/21]
View answerA person claiming widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's contributory pension must provide evidence that they are the legal widow, widower or surviving civil partner. The original civil marriage certificate has already been provided by the person concerned. However, where the marriage took place outside the State, as in this case, the marriage licence must also be provided.
The person concerned has been requested to furnish the marriage license so that his claim can be given further consideration. Once the marriage license is received, his claim to widower's contributory pension will be examined and he will be notified of outcome without delay.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
543. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of jobseeker's allowance, disability allowance and carer's allowance appeals currently pending within her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24240/21]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
All claim decisions taken by the Department’s Deciding Officers and Designated Persons are appealable to the Chief Appeals Officer. In any year about 85% of all claims are awarded by the Department and just 1% are appealed.
The following table sets out the number of jobseeker's allowance, disability allowance and carer's allowance appeals pending at the end of April 2021. It also provides the equivalent figures for the end of April 2020 and the end of December 2020.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Appeals on Hand
|
Disability Allowance |
Carer’s Allowance |
Jobseeker’s Allowance |
|
|
At date |
|||
|
30 April 2020 |
1,584 |
885 |
1,066 |
|
31 December 2020 |
1,199 |
639 |
660 |
|
30 April 2021 |
1,237 |
709 |
632 |
544. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason emergency foster parents automatically precluded from using a childminder are forced to be available for work or training when they have been assured their welfare payments to the value of that in jobseeker’s will continue in their fostering; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24360/21]
View answerThe two main income supports provided by my Department for people who have lost employment and are unable to find full time work are Jobseeker's Benefit which is a payment based on a person’s social insurance contributions while in employment and Jobseeker's Allowance, a means tested assistance payment.
In order to qualify for a Jobseeker’s payment a person must satisfy all of the qualifying conditions of the statutory scheme including being available for and genuinely seeking work. A foster carer may not be in a position to satisfy the conditions for a jobseeker’s payment due to the responsibilities of that role and should contact the Department accordingly.
The provision of fostering services is a matter for Tusla (The Child and Family Agency). This includes any supports, including financial, that are required by the foster parent or the foster child. A weekly payment is payable to the foster carer by Tusla.
The means tested Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme is also available for any person who is need of financial assistance including Exceptional and Urgent Needs Payments.
I hope that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
545. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection the non-governmental organisations in receipt of funding from her Department; the amount of funding allocated to same in 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24381/21]
View answerThe 2020 allocations for non-governmental organisations in receipt of funding from this Department are as follows:
1. €80,000 for the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice
2. €255,000 for the Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed
3. €350,000 for Community Law and Mediation.
In addition, the following amounts were allocated in 2020 to organisations which made applications for funding under the initiative for the promotion of awareness of the annual United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The Deputy may wish to note that the groups may not have fully drawn down these amounts because of the impact of pandemic restrictions on planned activities.
|
Applicant |
Amount Allocated 2020 |
|
All Together in Dignity (ATD) Fourth World - Ireland Ltd. |
€2,854 |
|
Aster Family Support |
€2,365 |
|
Blanchardstown Centre for Independent Living |
€1,500 |
|
BREFFNI |
€2,500 |
|
Doras Buí |
€2,550 |
|
Foodshare Kerry |
€1,550 |
|
ICTU |
€2,000 |
|
Irish 17 October Committee |
€2,080 |
|
Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership |
€3,000 |
|
Lus Na Greine |
€1,500 |
|
North West Simon Community |
€2,800 |
|
Offaly Traveller Movement |
€3,000 |
|
SAOL |
€3,000 |
|
SICCDA |
€813 |
|
Society of St Vincent De Paul (SVP) Young SVP Programme |
€3,000 |
|
Treoir |
€2,700 |
|
Tullamore Community and Family Resource Centre |
€2,770 |
|
Yola Hedge School |
€1,400 |
The Deputy will also be aware that, under its Employment Programmes, the Department provides funding in respect of the following schemes: Community Employment (CE), Job Initiative (JI), Tús and Rural Social Scheme (RSS). The total provision for these schemes in 2020 was €539m.
In addition, the 2020 provision for the Citizens Information Board of €61.8m includes CIB Operational Grants to its funded Service Delivery Companies.
546. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons employed by her Department; and the collective total salary received by employees of her Department. [24460/21]
View answerAt the end of March the number of persons employed by my Department was 6,725 and the collective total salary (annualised) received by employees was €287,865,315.
547. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection if she or her Department employ persons or firms to deal with public relations; if so, the number of persons employed by her Department to deal with public relations; the names of any firms involved; and the amount spent on public relations by her Department. [24461/21]
View answerThe Department of Social Protection does not employ persons or engage any external consultants or firms to deal with public relations and, therefore, no expenditure has been incurred.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
548. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons that have had a sanction imposed on their payment for failing to engage with the JobPath services in 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021, by county in tabular form. [24472/21]
View answer549. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons that have been referred to the JobPath service in 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021, by county in tabular form. [24473/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 548 and 549 together.
My Department provides a range of employment supports for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market to secure and sustain full-time paid employment. These supports include the JobPath service.
The range of factors to be considered when applying a reduced rate of payment preclude me from making a definitive statement that the sole context involved in the application of a reduced rate would have been non engagement with the JobPath service. In addition the Deputy should note that that reduced rates of payment have been suspended since March 2020 as part of the Department's response to the pandemic.
The process for sanctioning clients who do not engage with the JobPath service is exactly the same as the process for clients who fail to engage with the Department’s employment service Intreo or by other contracted providers, the Local Employment Services and Job Clubs.
In the normal course of business, the JobPath service providers would submit non-engagement notifications to the Department. This is an administrative function which is not necessarily indicative of any particular outcome. In the majority of cases the client will be contacted, and their appointment will be rescheduled. Some clients may have multiple non-engagements recorded without any sanction.
Contracted providers do not apply or recommend the application of a reduced rate of payment. They simply inform the Department if a jobseeker is failing to attend the service without good cause. The application of reduced rates of payment is entirely a matter for my Department and officials involved will take all relevant factors into account.
In the interests of natural justice, a jobseeker who fails to engage with an employment service, whether that is provided directly by my Department’s Intreo Service or via a contracted service provider, is given both written and verbal warnings and an opportunity to comply before a reduced rate of payment is applied. Furthermore, Jobseekers can, through co-operation with my Department's employment services, benefit from early re-instatement of the full rate of Jobseeker’s payment.
Of those clients who were referred to and engaged with JobPath in 2019 , 2020 and thus far in 2021 some 2,235 unique clients had a reduced rate of payment applied at some stage during their engagement with JobPath. These are presented on a per county basis in table (i).
The JobPath service seeks to support the long-term unemployed to obtain and sustain paid employment. Covid restrictions have had a significant impact on the 2020 provision of services compared to previous years. Referrals stopped 3 times in 2020 (March, October and December).
Referrals recommenced in March 2021 and are continuing. The two JobPath providers, Seetec and Turas Nua have continued to work with those already referred and have moved to a remote model of service delivery engaging with customers remotely. The number of jobseekers who engaged with the JobPath service in 2019 , 2020 & to date in 2021 are set out on a per county basis in Table (ii).
Table (i) Clients referred to and engaged with JobPath in 2019, 2020 & 2021 (end March) who have had reduced rates of payment applied during their JobPath engagement period, listed by county.
|
County |
Number of clients |
|
Carlow |
<10 |
|
Cavan |
60 |
|
Clare |
30 |
|
Cork |
50 |
|
Donegal |
20 |
|
Dublin |
970 |
|
Galway |
130 |
|
Kerry |
30 |
|
Kildare |
90 |
|
Kilkenny |
<10 |
|
Laois |
50 |
|
Leitrim |
30 |
|
Limerick |
70 |
|
Longford |
40 |
|
Louth |
50 |
|
Mayo |
<10 |
|
Meath |
190 |
|
Monaghan |
20 |
|
Offaly |
50 |
|
Roscommon |
<10 |
|
Sligo |
20 |
|
Tipperary |
100 |
|
Waterford |
80 |
|
Westmeath |
80 |
|
Wexford |
80 |
|
Wicklow |
20 |
Please note: the figures in the above table have been rounded to the nearest 10, counties where there is a total of 10 clients or less have been marked as <10.
Table (ii) Clients referred to and engaged with JobPath in 2019, 2020 & 2021 (end March) listed by referral year & county
|
County |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 YTD |
Total |
|
Carlow |
797 |
740 |
109 |
1,646 |
|
Cavan |
1,359 |
705 |
111 |
2,175 |
|
Clare |
1,018 |
1,014 |
150 |
2,182 |
|
Cork |
3,375 |
2,544 |
398 |
6,317 |
|
Donegal |
3,478 |
1,732 |
181 |
5,391 |
|
Dublin |
12,909 |
6,935 |
1,146 |
20,990 |
|
Galway |
3,069 |
1,381 |
220 |
4,670 |
|
Kerry |
1,248 |
1,307 |
131 |
2,686 |
|
Kildare |
1,377 |
1,215 |
186 |
2,778 |
|
Kilkenny |
798 |
665 |
84 |
1,547 |
|
Laois |
999 |
843 |
165 |
2,007 |
|
Leitrim |
726 |
439 |
73 |
1,238 |
|
Limerick |
1,634 |
1,295 |
185 |
3,114 |
|
Longford |
949 |
509 |
72 |
1,530 |
|
Louth |
2,246 |
1,309 |
235 |
3,790 |
|
Mayo |
2,105 |
746 |
177 |
3,028 |
|
Meath |
1,561 |
848 |
137 |
2,546 |
|
Monaghan |
611 |
322 |
42 |
975 |
|
Offaly |
1,234 |
840 |
91 |
2,165 |
|
Roscommon |
619 |
272 |
29 |
920 |
|
Sligo |
1,038 |
619 |
61 |
1,718 |
|
Tipperary |
1,526 |
1,209 |
173 |
2,908 |
|
Waterford |
1,232 |
1,236 |
144 |
2,612 |
|
Westmeath |
1,774 |
990 |
147 |
2,911 |
|
Wexford |
1,655 |
1,995 |
221 |
3,871 |
|
Wicklow |
1,064 |
1,028 |
142 |
2,234 |
|
Grand Total |
50,401 |
32,738 |
4,810 |
87,949 |
550. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update in respect of her contracts with JobPath service providers; the amount paid in respect of these companies historically to date; if she has agreed an updated service level agreement with the providers; if the current contract with providers has an optional extension built into it; and her plans to conduct a value for money appraisal of the services provided. [24474/21]
View answerTo date the total amount paid to those providing the JobPath service is €259.6m. The yearly spend on JobPath is provided in the following table.
|
Year |
Expenditure |
|
2015 |
€1.2m |
|
2016 |
€25.2m |
|
2017 |
€57.4m |
|
2018 |
€71.7m |
|
2019 |
€58.6m |
|
2020 |
€36.2m |
|
2021 |
€9.3m (to date) |
|
Total |
€259.6m |
Last October, I announced an extension of referrals to the JobPath service for a further twelve months until the end of 2021. At that time I also announced similar extensions to the Local Employment Services, Job Clubs and EmployAbility to ensure their services extended into 2021.
These measures were taken in order to ensure the Public Employment Service had sufficient capacity to support those impacted by the pandemic with access to employment services during 2021.
While new referrals to the JobPath service will cease at the end of December, there will be a run out period enabling existing clients to complete their engagement with the service. In the interim, my Department is continuing to examine procurement options for the provision of all contracted employment services to ensure that the Public Employment Service has sufficient capacity in 2022 to support all those who need our assistance and help in securing new employment.
In 2019, my Department published an econometric review, in partnership with the OECD, measuring the JobPath service's effectiveness. Findings showed that weekly earnings of people who secured employment after JobPath engagement were 17% higher than the weekly employment earnings of people who secured employment without the support of JobPath. Taken with the 26% improvement in employment outcomes – the likelihood of a person getting a job - in the same period, it means the overall positive impact was 37% in 2018 for those supported by the JobPath service.
551. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Social Protection when case officers in social welfare offices were notified that participants on the back to work enterprise allowance could pause their allowance when their businesses were forced to close due to Covid-19 restrictions. [24515/21]
View answer552. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Social Protection if all participants on the back to work enterprise allowance were informed in writing of their option to pause their allowance when their businesses were forced to close due to Covid-19 restrictions. [24516/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 551 and 552 together.
The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) scheme offers support for people who are long-term unemployed and who are interested in self-employment as a route to entering the labour market. The scheme plays a vital role in supporting the development of new enterprises for the long-term unemployed and is payable for up to a 24 month period from the commencement of their new business.
The primary condition for eligibility to BTWEA is that the participant is remaining in active self employment on a full time basis. It is normal practice to support a suspension of the scheme to facilitate a temporary deferral of self-employed activity, which primarily arises as a result of an illness or injury. This position has always been available to the Department’s case officers.
As with all welfare payments the onus is on the customer to notify the Department of a change in their circumstance. Where someone in receipt of BTWEA contacted the Department as a result of a loss in trading activity they were permitted to retain their BTWEA payment for the period to support the ongoing running of their business. In some cases the individual opted to suspend their BTWEA payment.
Following the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic many self-employed people continued to operate their business at reduced levels. Provision was made to continue to pay the BTWEA and the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) concurrently, where appropriate, to support these newly established businesses. As the situation evolved, further amendments were made to the PUP to support self-employed people including that a person could take up limited self-employment and earn up to €960 over a rolling 8 week period. This also applies to those who are also in receipt of BTWEA.
In all instances people will continue to receive their full entitlement under the BTWEA, providing support for up to 24 months. Where a person’s entitlement to BTWEA exhausts and they are continuing to operate at reduced levels of business activity the Department has a range of income supports that may be available to them.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
553. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of the publishing of the report by the Commission on Pensions which is expected to report in June 2021. [24593/21]
View answerThe Pensions Commission was established in November 2020 to examine the sustainability of the State Pension system and the Social Insurance Fund, in fulfillment of a Programme for Government commitment. These issues are being considered from a perspective of fiscal and social sustainability, and intergenerational fairness. The Commission has held eleven meetings to date, as well as a public consultation process including a Stakeholder Forum. Details of the Commission's work to date is available on its website, pensionscommission.gov.ie.
In accordance with its Terms of Reference, the Commission is due to submit a report on its work, findings, options and recommendations to me by 30 June 2021. The Government intends to take action having regard to the recommendations of the Commission within 6 months of receipt of the report. I expect that the Commission's report will be published once Government has concluded its consideration of its findings.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
554. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons currently in receipt of the widow’s pension. [24595/21]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table.
|
Scheme |
April 2021 |
|
Widowe(er)’s Contributory Pension |
123,422 |
|
Widow(er)’s Non-Contributory Pension |
1,275 |
555. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of widow pension recipients who have to work to raise families; and the value of the resultant tax revenue on their pension payment. [24596/21]
View answerThe Department does not collate statistics on the number of widows pension recipients who engage in employment/self-employment, as this is not necessary for the administration of the scheme. Accordingly, it is not possible to provide information on the value of tax revenue contributed by widows pension recipients.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
556. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) in receipt of illness benefit should apply for the State pension (contributory). [24709/21]
View answerThe age at which a pension is payable is currently 66 years. Applications for the state pension (contributory) should be submitted at least three months before the person reaches pension age.
The person concerned will reach pension age later this year. I have arranged for a copy of their social insurance contribution record to issue to them, together with an application form for State pension (contributory).
On receipt of a completed application, their entitlement can be examined by a Deciding Officer and they will be notified of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
557. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the percentage and total figure of young persons aged up to and including 18 years of age that have an active case with the Probation Service that are also subject to a care order through Tusla. [24070/21]
View answerThe Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.
558. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his views on the finding in the Ombudsman for Children's report Safety and Welfare of Children in Direct Provision that Tusla, the HSE and IPAS have failed to collaborate to provide on-site preventative and early intervention services and to gather data on national trends of referrals to services given this was a recommendation of the McMahon report. [24096/21]
View answerI welcome the report of the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) “Safety and Welfare of Children in Direct Provision” and my Department accepts its recommendations in full.
I am pleased that the recommendations of Dr Muldoon's Office are being acted on by all of the relevant agencies. While a good deal of work has been undertaken in the past number of years to improve the services provided to children and their families, IPAS, Tusla and the HSE have committed to increased collaboration and coordination in the coming period.
As the Deputy may be aware a new Vulnerability Assessment process is currently being piloted by the IPAS. The pilot commenced in December 2020 and was extended to all new applicants for International Protection from the beginning of February. The purpose of these assessments is to determine if an applicant is deemed to have special reception needs, what those needs are and what actions are required to address those needs. Assessment questions are based on the various categories of vulnerability identified within the EU Reception Conditions Directive 2013/33/EU, and have been refined within the Irish context with the help of the HSE.
A new Resident Welfare Team has been established within IPAS to case-manage individual families, and single residents, identified as having special reception needs and to ensure that those needs continue to be identified and addressed in the most appropriate way possible. The Resident Welfare Team will be a multi-disciplinary team with experts from the fields of education, health and childcare seconded.
IPAS is also committed to working with Tusla during 2021 to develop interagency protocols and operating procedures that will support the sharing of case information between Tusla and IPAS and to track and monitor referrals and cases from beginning to end.
All existing centres and all new centres are required to develop a child safeguarding statement. IPAS will work with Tusla to ensure compliance with child safeguarding statements and Children First legislation is audited this year. IPAS will be ensuring that child safeguarding statements are translated and made available to all residents. Additional child safety training will also be rolled out to all centre managers as COVID restrictions allow.
Since the recent publication of the OCO report, Tusla has committed to publishing its Direct Provision Policy, 2021, for all staff working with children and families living in Direct Provision accommodation. The policy states that each Direct Provision accommodation centre will have a named point of contact within the relevant Tusla area. The policy also clarifies the ongoing role of the Children and Young Persons Services Committees (CYPSCs) in co-ordinating services and ensuring that children in Direct Provision are included in these services.
In addition, Tusla is reviewing its IT system to plan for the next stage of the development of the National Child Care Information System (NCCIS) and consideration will be given to enable referrals for children living in IPAS accommodation, along with other specified groups of children, to be tracked on a national basis.
As part of the white paper, the Department of Health and the HSE have proposed an enhanced model of health care for international protection applicants. It responds to the main issues facing this population group, covering public health, mental health and physical health. The model is in line with the HSE intercultural health strategy and the Sláintecare reform programme.
The HSE’s approach to intercultural health as outlined in the ‘Second National Intercultural Health Strategy 2018- 2023’ is to support the diverse ethnic and cultural groups in obtaining equal access and opportunities across the Irish health care services. The HSE recognise that a coordinated approach is important in the planning of new accommodation centres and agree that health services need to be involved at an early stage to assess local capacity to meet increased demand. Existing primary care services must be supported when new centres are opened.
In addition, the Department of Health has indicated its committment to work with the HSE to meet the health needs of people seeking international protection in direct provision centres, in collaboration with IPAS and other service providers.
559. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the case of a child (details supplied) will be examined; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23617/21]
View answerOfficials of my Department are currently in correspondence with the parents of the child referred to by the Deputy, and a final decision will issue to them shortly.
560. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the progress to date that has been made by his Department on the implementation of the Workplace Relations Commission agreement of September 2020 between a union (details supplied) and city and county childcare committees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23625/21]
View answer562. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the progress made by his Department on the implementation of the Workplace Relations Commission agreement of September 2020 (details supplied) between a union and city and county childcare committees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23667/21]
View answer566. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the progress that has been made by his Department on the implementation of the Workplace Relations Commission agreement of September 2020 between a union (details supplied) and city and county childcare committees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23751/21]
View answer570. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the progress that has been made by his Department on the implementation of the Workplace Relations Commission agreement of September 2020 (details supplied) between a union and city and county childcare committees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24060/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 560, 562, 566 and 570 together.
In August 2019, the union referred to by the Deputy, which represents the managers of the County Childcare Committees (CCC) and the CCC Boards of Management, who are the employers of CCC staff, engaged in a review of CCC managers’ pay. The employers and the union agreed that the CCC manager should be regraded from a salary equivalent to Local Authority Level 6 to a salary equivalent to Local Authority Level 8. A submission on this was subsequently made to my Department and Officials undertook to review it.
The Workplace Relations Commission met with SIPTU and representatives of CCC Boards of Management in 2020 on non-implementation of this agreement, when it was agreed by both parties to further engage with my Department on the matter.
My Department has reviewed the agreement and determined that as CCC staff, including managers, are employed by each CCC Board of Management, their salary scales should be set by each Board of Management.
My Department has concluded that it does not have a role in setting the salaries as the CCC staff are not employed by my Department. My Department has accordingly withdrawn a 2001 letter from the then Department of Justice and Equality which set the salaries of CCC managers as being equivalent to Local Authority Grade 6.
CCC Boards of Management were informed of this decision on 5 May, 2021.
