Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Community employment is an absolutely vital part of the social employment-social enterprise structure of this country. There are more than 1,000 CE supervisors. They give really valuable and important services to communities in urban and rural areas, particularly in areas of disadvantage. I am sure the Minister would agree that the people involved in community employment as supervisors and assistant supervisors have given a very good service to the State. Various detailed proposals have been put forward which would address this issue. The cost is not enormous and these people have given service. More importantly, the community service model which is so vital to our social infrastructure is in serious danger of simply disappearing because there is not a proper structure for resolving an issue like this.

The Minister is having a kind of King Canute moment. The economy is in recovery yet he is holding up his hands and saying in terms of legitimate areas such as the Defence Forces and community employment supervisors that he is not able to do anything. We have a process of restoration at the moment and that should be applied to the CE supervisors.

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