Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
686. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department will sanction the employment of an assistant supervisor for a community employment scheme (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35843/23]
View answerThe Community Employment (CE) programme is delivered through independent CE sponsoring organisations who receive state funding from my Department to cover the salary costs of supervisors, assistant supervisors, and participant remuneration, along with a grant towards training and material costs. CE sponsoring organisations are the legal employers of CE supervisors, assistant supervisors and participants.
The provision of funding for an assistant supervisor position is considered when the sponsor organisation submits, with the project application, a detailed job description for the additional supervision tasks.
Where a project maintains an approval level of 26 or more participants, additional supervisory grant support may be allocated for an assistant supervisor to enable the sponsor provide assistance with additional supervision. The Department considers such applications for grant support on their merit, taking into account the number of active participants, the level of supervision required for each particular placement and the level of administration.
Although the scheme referenced by the Deputy currently has 28 participants, there are 10 participants in positions where direct supervision is provided by the sub-sponsor and the scheme also has the additional support of one participant, who provides administration support to the supervisor.
My Department regularly reviews funding for supervisory positions on CE schemes to ensure that appropriate supervision is available. If there is a significant change in the supervision levels in this scheme, the provision of extra support can be re-examined.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
