Written answers

Thursday, 26 January 2012

Department of Social Protection

Community Employment Schemes

5:00 pm

Photo of Dessie EllisDessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 23: To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on the concerns that abolishing concurrent payments will make participation in community employment unaffordable for many lone parents; and if she will reverse that cut. [4348/12]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Those persons currently engaged on a Community Employment (CE) programme and in receipt of One-parent Family Payment will retain their concurrent payments less the increase for the qualified child paid on CE, until they have either exhausted their eligibility to participate on the scheme, they leave the scheme voluntarily or if they are still present on the scheme at the final cut-off date for receipt of the concurrent payment in December 2014. The net reduction in combined income to a person currently on CE and in receipt of One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) is as follows:

1 child €22.30 per week

2 children €37.10 per week

3 children €51.90 per week

4 children €66.70 per week

5 children €81.50 per week

6 children €97.30 per week

The reason the difference is less than the basic €29.80 child dependant rate is due to the retained OFP being reassessed upwards due to less Community Employment (CE) income being means-assessed against it. The reduced €130 income disregard has also been taken into account in these calculations. New participants to CE will receive the equivalent of what they received on the original social welfare payment plus the €20 CE participation bonus, all paid under their CE allowances. Given the exigency of the current budgetary situation facing my Department, I cannot reinstate the budgets to 2011 levels.

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