Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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13. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to address the pension concerns of community employment supervisors. [19223/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The issue of addressing the entitlement of community employment supervisors to occupational pensions is primarily a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. For the record, it should be noted that my Department is not the employer of CE supervisors and, therefore, such employees are not public servants. They are employees of limited companies that receive public funding.

It should also be noted that the issue of CE supervisors' pension provision is being examined by a community sector high level forum, chaired by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. My Department is represented on this group, as are the unions, Pobal and other relevant Departments, but it has only one input.

I am conscious of the need for a resolution of this matter. I am also conscious that this issue requires careful consideration, having regard to the hundreds of thousands of people who work in the community and voluntary sector and the implications of any decision on scarce Exchequer resources, particularly in light of the large size of the community and voluntary sector in Ireland.

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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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.

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I am not aware of the ex gratiapayment. When it was brought to my attention by Deputy Howlin last week, I was not aware of it so I sought a report on it.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I am happy to meet the Minister to discuss it.

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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This particular issue is years in the brewing. It has been through a Fianna Fáil Minister for Social Protection and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, a Labour Party Minister for Social Protection and Minister for Public Expenditure and currently a Fine Gael Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. If this was an easy issue to resolve, it would have been done years ago.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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A solution is possible.

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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We do acknowledge that there is a resolution that needs to be found but it needs to be found within the confines of the Labour Court recommendation that it cannot be to the detriment of the CE schemes and placements. Also, as custodians of taxpayers' money we have to ensure that this does not extend to a far wider and greater reach than the original issue that was put on the table ten years ago.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Again, I am happy to meet the Minister to discuss the issue.