Dáil debates

Tuesday, 24 April 2018

Community Employment Pension Scheme: Motion [Private Members]

 

10:30 pm

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Most of this has been said before. The reality is that there was a Labour Court ruling in 2008. I can understand that it was not introduced at the height of the downturn when the order of the day was cutting back. For the last number of years the budget has increased to such a level that, in fact, this year the expenditure voted by this House will be as big as it was in 2008. Therefore, it is time that this matter was dealt with. The Government has been taking steps but they have been very slow. A high-level forum was set up but it seems that there is a difficulty in just progressing this and coming to a conclusion. In the meantime, supervisors and assistant supervisors are retiring without anything other than the State pension.

The message is loud and clear. The Government must deal with this issue now and must come to a conclusion, organise the meetings and make a decision. That is what people are looking for. Not to do so would be totally unfair. As the Minister of State knows - I often wonder if Departments fully appreciate this - if the CE schemes were to stop tomorrow, what would happen to the services that have come to depend on these schemes? In terms of training people back into employment who have been long-term unemployed and in terms of people's personal well-being, what would happen? Without the supervisors and assistant supervisors, it is not possible to do anything. The Government has the recommendation and it is time that it acted. It is time the Government made a decision to award the pension that was basically awarded by the Labour Court. It would be a very bad precedent if it did not honour a Labour Court recommendation.

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