Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I again acknowledge the important role RSS and Tús supervisors play in supporting the delivery of key services to local communities across the country and in providing valuable opportunities to participants. I assure the Deputy that my Department is very conscious of the vital role of supervisors within these work programmes.

While RSS and Tús supervisors are employees of the individual implementing bodies and neither the Department nor the State is the employer of this group of workers, officials in my Department continue to hold regular meetings with representative associations to discuss employment-related matters. In 2023, all supervisors employed in our employment programmes received a 5% pay increase. My Department officials have been engaging with the union and employing companies’ representatives in relation to a claim seeking pay parity for Tús and RSS supervisors with CE supervisors.

As I said in my earlier reply on this matter, there is a difference in the supervisor roles: specifically, CE supervisors have a key role in drawing up and supervising individual participant learning and development plans. We would expect these differences in scope to be reflected in the service fees paid to the service providers. As a consequence, my Department, as funder of these schemes, and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform are considering the complexities involved in addressing this issue. My officials will continue to liaise with the representative groups on this matter.

I assure the Deputy my Department values the work undertaken by all supervisors and the great contribution they provide to all participants and communities throughout the State.

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