Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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458. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the position regarding efforts to resolve the issue of providing a pension scheme for community employment supervisors and assistant supervisors; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44164/21]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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As the Deputy will be aware, CE supervisors and CE assistant supervisors have been seeking for several years, through their union representatives, the allocation of Exchequer funding to implement a 2008 Labour Court recommendation relating to the provision of a pension scheme for CE supervisors and assistant supervisors who are employed by CE scheme sponsors.

This claim creates some difficulties because the State is not the employer of the supervisors.

Within this context, officials from my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform held discussions on proposals to progress and resolve this complex issue, while having regard to the wider budgetary framework. Department officials also held discussions with unions representing CE supervisors and CE assistant supervisors.

At the start of April, agreement was reached with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform on proposals to resolve the long-standing issue. These proposals include a financial package.

I am confident these proposals are a solid basis for progressing and resolving this complex issue. Discussions on these proposals are ongoing between my Department and the unions representing CE supervisors and CE assistant supervisors. The unions have made a number of observations, and these are currently being examined by my officials in conjunction with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and other relevant Government Departments.

My officials are continuing to progress this matter as a priority, and I would hope that these discussions can reach a conclusion in the near future.

I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.

Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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459. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider allowing more flexibility for participants over 55 years of age that are currently engaged in a community employment scheme given that at present they are unable to have their contracts renewed. [43207/21]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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The aim of the Community Employment (CE) programme is to enhance the employability of disadvantaged and long- term unemployed people by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their local communities. The programme aims to improve a person’s opportunities to return to the labour market. Participation on CE is for a temporary fixed-term.

CE placements are intended to be temporary and subject to time limits. This is to ensure the continued availability of places on CE schemes for a broad range of long term unemployed candidates.

In general, all CE placements for new entrants aged between 21 and 55 years are for 1 year. However, CE participants, working towards a major educational award, can seek to extend participation by up to two years to enable them to reach the required qualification standards.

There is already additional flexibility as regards participation on CE for those aged 55 and over. For example, those over 55 years of age can remain on CE for up to three years, while CE participants who are aged over 55 and commenced on CE prior to the introduction of the changes in 2017 continue to be eligible to stay on CE for six consecutive years.

CE participants over the age of 62 are allowed to participate on a continuous basis up to the State Pension age on the CE Service Support Stream (SSS), subject to certain criteria In total, 10% of CE placements are available under the service support stream and Department officials continue to encourage take-up of this CE stream.

CE participants’ contracts were extended during the course of the pandemic, which meant that many contracts extended well beyond the time limits mentioned above. As the economy re-opens and the public health restrictions unwind, these COVID-related contract extensions will start to be phased out from the end of October as CE schemes return to providing more standard supports to long term unemployed people and services to communities.

I will continue to support and improve the programme for the benefit of the CE participants and the valuable contribution being made to local communities through the provision of services while ensuring that places continue to be made available to those who are long term unemployed.