Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have an opportunity to contribute to this important debate on the plight of CE supervisors and assistant supervisors who have, notwithstanding the 2008 Labour Court hearing, been denied the import of the recommendation made, which was that an agreed pension scheme would be introduced for them and would be funded by FÁS, the recognised funding agency at the time. I recall meeting supervisors and assistant supervisors from the midland counties and their trade union representative in Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath, two and a half years ago. They were disappointed, angry and annoyed about the failure of the State to engage in a constructive manner in respect of the Labour Court recommendation. The court is an essential part of our industrial relations resolution machinery and they were disappointed, disenchanted and irate that they were being left in the lurch.

We are all aware of the importance of CE schemes through the country and the role they play in environmental enhancement and refurbishment in towns and villages. We have all witnessed, as I did in my own village of Ballynacargy, the annual increase in points in the Tidy Towns competition. Much of this arises from the contribution of Tidy Towns associations and the participants in CE schemes who take great pride in their work. CE schemes act as a stepping stone to regular work for some. There are 25,000 participants on schemes currently working with crèches, community halls, GAA and soccer clubs, Meals on Wheels schemes, Tidy Towns association and looking after the maintenance of green areas, as Deputy McGrath said. Critical to the success of the operation of CE are the 1,250 supervisors and assistant supervisors who manage the local projects on a daily basis and ensure the objectives of each scheme are achieved. This involves a plethora of bookkeeping, record-keeping and general management expertise. Since 2008, more than 250 supervisors have retired and, notwithstanding their expectation, no pension scheme or gratuity was provided. The Department is not looking to a create a precedent and a scoping exercise is being explored to see what can be provided but the community sector high-level forum, which was established in 2015 on foot of a recommendation by Mr. Kieran Mulvey, has been an abysmal failure. I understand the most recent meeting on 7 April 2017 broke up in disagreement because it is the equivalent of having talks about talks instead of confronting the issue head on and achieving a just and fair resolution for the supervisors and assistant supervisors. They will all be retired and they will get nothing until they qualify for the old age pension.

See this speech in context