Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 September 2022
319. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on the community employment scheme; the number of persons currently availing of the scheme; her plans, if any, to increase the payment for those availing of the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47025/22]
View answerCommunity Employment (CE) is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis. Participation on the scheme is part time - 19.5 hours per week.
There are currently just over 18,700 participants on CE. In order to assist schemes to maintain services in the current tight labour market and improve recruitment, Minister Humphreys and I announced a number of reforms to CE in December 2021 and again in June 2022 - allowing all those over 60 to remain on schemes until they reach retirement age and to permit further extensions to participants' contracts where no replacement has been referred to fill places.
The payment rates on CE are related to the underlying value of certain social protection payments plus €22.50 per week. In addition, a participant may be eligible for payments in respect of any qualified dependent adult and children. If a CE participant's underlying payment (including dependents) is €208 a week or less, they receive the minimum CE weekly rate of €230.50, that is €208 plus the top up of €22.50. If a participant's underlying payment (including dependents) is €208 or more, then they receive the same rate as their social protection payment plus €22.50.
CE participants can retain their medical card and can also retain any additional benefits they were entitled to on their underlying scheme prior to joining CE, for example Fuel Allowance, provided they continue to satisfy the qualifying conditions for those benefits.
Any increase in payments to CE participants is a matter for Budget 2023. CE participants will also receive any increase in underlying social welfare rates announced as part of the budgetary package.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
