Community 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. The programme is delivered through independent CE sponsoring organisations that operate in the community and voluntary sector.
CE sponsoring authorities receive annual contracts from my Department which fund the employment of both CE participants and supervisors, as well as funding towards training and material costs. Grant aid is provided by the Department to cover these costs on a per capita basis.
Fuel Allowance is a means tested payment to assist householders on long-term social welfare payments who are unable to provide for their own heating needs. Fuel Allowance, currently €33 per week, is paid from the end of September to April each year for 28 weeks. CE participants with an underlying entitlement to the allowance continue to receive it as part of their weekly payments, made by CE sponsors to participants.
These payment arrangements which are in place between my department and CE sponsoring organisations do not support the payment of the Fuel Allowance in an up-front lump sum to CE participants.
However, as part of the Government’s €505 million package aimed at mitigating the effects of rising energy costs an additional one-off payment of €125 was paid in early March to those in receipt of a Fuel Allowance, including CE participants. Under Budget 2023 a lump sum Fuel Allowance payment of €400 will issue in November 2022. This payment should assist those persons who pay for their fuel/heating needs by lump sum.
It should be noted that it has been possible to make these two recently agreed payments by lump sum as they are standard amounts payable to all who qualify and do not involve calculation of a weekly entitlement covering an extended entitlement period to be aggregated and paid by lump sum.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
