Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Question 288: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the changes following on from budget 2012 and the recent changes to social welfare legislation in respect of payments made to persons on community employment who are currently in receipt of one-parent family payment or widow's payment in respect of their child dependent allowance, and also in respect of persons who are in receipt of illness benefit or disability benefit but have an exemption for community employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2433/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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1As announced in Budget 2012, the payment of two qualified child increases per child where the person is employed on a Community Employment (CE) scheme and in receipt of One Parent Family Payment, Deserted Wife's Benefit/Allowance or Widow(er)'s Pension, will be discontinued for existing participants and new entrants in January 2012. New entrants to CE are defined as persons who have not participated on the scheme in the last 12 months.

New entrants to the Community Employment programme will not be able to claim another social welfare-funded payment at the same time, but will receive the standard additional €20 CE participation bonus on top of their original payment amount. This measure affects persons in receipt of One Parent Family Payment, Deserted Wife's Benefit, Widow(er)'s Pension, Illness Benefit, Invalidity Pension, Disability Allowance and Blind Pension.

Those already on CE will receive their original social welfare payment and one child increase per child. As CE is employment and insurable at the Class A PRSI rate and accordingly, earnings from CE are treated in the same way as other employment earnings for Social Welfare purposes. The One Parent Family Payment will be adjusted upwards to take account of the reduction of the Child Increase allowance. Existing CE participants can retain the original social welfare payment as long as they are continuously employed on CE for a maximum period of three years, based on their eligibility to continue participation.