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Community Employment Schemes Supervisors

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 February 2018

Wednesday, 21 February 2018

Ceisteanna (209, 210)

Robert Troy

Ceist:

209. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to bring forward a pension scheme for community employment supervisors. [9017/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Robert Troy

Ceist:

210. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to implement a Labour Court recommendation (details supplied) which sought to provide a redundancy payment deal for community employment workers and those formerly employed through FÁS. [9018/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 209 and 210 together.

Community Employment (CE) scheme supervisors are employees of private companies in the community and voluntary sector. The State is not responsible for funding pension arrangements for such employees even where the companies in question are reliant on State funding. It is open to individuals to make provision for a pension by way of PRSA which all employers are obliged to facilitate.

However, it should be noted that the issue of CE supervisors’ pension provision is currently being examined by a Community Sector High Level Forum, chaired by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. My Department is represented on this group, as are the unions, Pobal and other relevant Government Departments.

The Forum last met on 23 November 2017 and I understand that a paper outlining the costs involved was presented. Following on from this, I understand a meeting is being arranged in the coming weeks between the unions and my colleague, Paschal Donoghue T.D., Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

If circumstances arise where a CE supervisor is made redundant by their employer (the sponsoring organisation), and qualifies for a payment under the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967-2007, the supervisor would be entitled to statutory redundancy at a rate of two weeks’ pay per year of service, plus a further week’s pay (subject to an earnings limit of €600.00 per week).

My Department (and previously FÁS) have consistently maintained that the only circumstances in which it will fund enhanced redundancy packages to CE supervisors is where the redundancy arises because of the actions of the Department due to restructuring of the CE programme e.g. mainstreaming schools-based CE schemes to the Department of Education in 2001 or the reduction in the overall numbers on CE, such as happened in the late 1990s/early 2000s due to reduced numbers of long-term unemployed on the Live Register. Enhanced redundancy packages under the above circumstances were only funded by FÁS/DEASP where the sponsor/employer did not have the ability to fund the enhanced package.

This does not apply where the employer is the instigator of the redundancy e.g. no longer wanting to run the CE scheme, closure due to Company Registration Office strike-off, or where the sponsor organisation does not comply with the terms of their contract (maintain participant numbers etc.) and it is necessary for the Department to discontinue funding for the scheme/supervisor/assistant supervisor positions.

My Department has not made a decision to reduce the overall number of CE places or to mainstream CE places in the case of any CE scheme closures in recent times. Therefore, in these circumstances, there is no liability on my Department to pay enhanced redundancy.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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