Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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244. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if and the reason changes were made in 2019 to the operational rules of community employment supervisor pay scales; the reason community employment supervisors on a higher pay point who have their employment interrupted or contract ended are subsequently being rehired as supervisors on a lower pay point; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17831/21]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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The Community Employment Scheme (CE) is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis.

The programme is delivered through independent CE sponsoring authorities that operate in the community and voluntary sector. They are responsible for persons recruited and employed by them.

My Department provides funding for CE schemes for training and material costs, in addition to CE participant and CE supervisor wages. CE sponsoring authorities receive this funding in line with their annual contract with my Department.

CE supervisors are employed by CE sponsoring authorities, they are not employees of the Department. As the employer, CE sponsoring authorities provide fixed-term contracts to both new and existing CE supervisors in line with their annual contractual agreement with the Department. It is important to note that each CE sponsoring authority is an independent employer in their own right.

In 2019 the definition of a new CE supervisor was clarified as being a person hired by a CE sponsoring authority who is not currently employed as a CE supervisor. All new CE supervisors commence on Point 1 of the appropriate payscale and move by annual increments on the anniversary of their commencement date thereafter, subject to satisfactory performance. The change to a CE supervisor’s salary referred to in the Deputy's question relates to a situation where a CE supervisor starts with a new employer. It does not relate to an interruption in their employment with their existing employer.

I trust this clarifies the matter.