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

Is the Minister aware that previous Ministers for Public Expenditure and Reform and Environment, Community and Local Government put in place an ex gratiapayment to circumscribe the numbers involved such that no precedential value was set. I have previously given details on the number of assistant supervisors and supervisors on CE schemes who will be left impecunious when they retire and their incomes drop from €500 or €600 per week to €120 or €200 per week, which is a huge decrease. This ex gratia system was accepted by the trade unions and everybody involved. Perhaps when the Department next has an input into the forum the Minister's officials will seek to ensure this payment is brought back to the table as it would solve many of the issues. Many of those involved have only five or six years left in work and as such they will not be entitled to a full pension but they are prepared to subscribe to a pension scheme going forward. They are well aware of the situation. They are not fools.

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