Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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239. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the benefits and payments due to a community employment supervisor working for the past 20 consecutive years if he or she was to retire or be made redundant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11692/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Employment under the Community Employment Scheme is currently insurable under the Social Welfare Acts for all social welfare benefits and pensions. Community Employment (CE) Supervisors pay PRSI at the standard A1 rate. If a CE Supervisor reaches State Pension age and has 520 weekly full-rate PRSI contributions (10 years contributions), they would be due the full State Pension. If a CE Supervisor was made redundant by their employer (the CE Sponsoring organisation), and qualified for a payment under the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967-2007, the Supervisor would be entitled to statutory redundancy at a rate of two weeks’ pay per year of service, plus a further week’s pay (subject to an earnings limit of €600.00 per week).

The Department is also continuing to honour an agreement between FÁS and the relevant trade unions for the payment of enhanced redundancy where the CE Supervisor’s redundancy situation arises because the Department is amalgamating two or more CE schemes (due to realignment or unviability). This enhanced redundancy agreement does not apply where the CE Sponsor is the instigator of the redundancy situation (e.g. no longer wanting to run the CE scheme, closure due to Company Registration Office strike-off, etc.)