Written answers
Thursday, 10 July 2014
Department of Social Protection
Community Employment Schemes Eligibility
Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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106. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the exemptions available for persons who are 50 years of age or over to avail of an additional year of participation in a community employment scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30578/14]
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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There are currently two options for participation on Community Employment (CE) based on the length of time a person has been in receipt of CE-qualifying social welfare payments:
- Part-time Integration Option (PTI) which is a one-year programme of CE for those who have generally been in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payments for 52 continuous weeks or more; orWith effect from 3rdApril 2000, lifetime participation on CE by an individual will be limited to:
- Part-time Job Option (PTJ) which is a three year programme of CE subject to annually renewable contracts for those who have generally been in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payments for 156 continuous weeks or more.
- 3 years (156 weeks) for persons under 55 years of age,Participation on CE prior to 3rdApril 2000 is not counted. Offshore island residents are exempt from this participation cap, subject to the availability of places on island-based CE schemes.
- 6 years (312 weeks) for persons of 55 years of age up to State Pension age,
- Eligible persons in receipt of a qualifying disability-linked social welfare payment will be eligible for one additional year on CE over the standard maximum participation caps, i.e. 4 years maximum time on CE for those under 55 years of age (PTJ Option only), and 7 years maximum time for those between 55 years of age and State Pension age (PTJ Option only).
In terms of extending a participants time on CE for another year under the PTI Option, the CE Sponsor must submit a proposal for the re-engagement of participants to the Department officials at least 8 weeks before the participant’s annual contract is due to expire. In the application for re-engagement, the Sponsor must identify the circumstances for the re-engagement of each participant, in line with the following criteria:
(i) Where the participant would benefit from continued participation in terms of additional development and training by clearly outlining his/her specific continued engagement within their Individual Learner Plan, orCriteria (i) above will be the main basis on which re-engagements will be considered, criteria (ii) is to be treated as exceptional. A maximum of 10%of current PTI participants on a project can apply for re-engagement for a further year.This does notapply to PTJ Option participants. For PTJ Option participants, the Sponsor must again supply the details in writing at least 8 weeks before the project year ends, or the participant’s annual contract is due to expire. Persons considered “job-ready” by their Supervisor at their contract renewal time will not be extended into a further year.
(ii) Where completion of a project has been delayed for a short time for reasons outside the control of the Sponsor.
There are no specific “exemptions” per sefor those of 50 years or over, as the above standard rules apply to all extensions, subject to the stated participation limits. The operating procedures for CE are kept under review and updated regularly. All amendments are notified to Department staff and CE Sponsors at each new release.
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