Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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188. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the measures being taken to ensure that community employment schemes are adequately budgeted to meet their obligations in view of the high rise in insurance costs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22762/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The annual budget provided to Community Employment (CE) schemes includes an amount to cover consumable services and materials, including insurance, necessary for the effective operation of the project.

The responsibility for insuring CE schemes rests with the CE sponsoring organisation (the legal employer). My Department is aware that there has been an increase in insurance premiums for CE schemes over recent years. The main reason cited for this is an increase in claims frequency by such schemes. In the first instance, my Department recommends that schemes seek alternative quotes to ensure they get value for money. Also, if CE schemes are not filling their contracted number of participants, it is recommended that they align their insurance requirement with actual participant numbers.

Insurance premium costs are reimbursed from the CE materials budget for the scheme. However, if a scheme is experiencing particular difficulties with insurance costs, the Sponsor should contact their local DEASP officer to discuss the issue.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.