Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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486. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will raise the issue of the payment that persons receive on the community employment scheme, given that many of these workers are working long hard hours (details supplied) for low pay and are struggling to make ends meet given the high cost of living; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26442/22]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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The Community Employment (CE) Scheme 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. Participation on the scheme is part time - 19.5 hours per week.

The payment rates on CE are related to the underlying social protection payments plus €22.50 per week. In addition, a participant may be eligible, where appropriate, for payments in respect of any qualified dependent adult and children.

If a CE participant's underlying payment (including dependents) is €208 a week or less, they receive the minimum CE weekly rate of €230.50, that is €208 plus the top up of €22.50. If a participant's underlying payment (including dependents) was €208 or more, then they receive the same rate as their social welfare payment plus €22.50.

CE participants can retain their medical card and can also retain any additional benefits they were entitled to on their underlying scheme prior to joining CE, for example Fuel Allowance.

CE participants can also work outside of the 19.5 hours that they participate on CE. The income from this employment does not affect their CE payment rate.

A number of Social Welfare payment increases took effect in January 2022 as part of measures introduced by Government in Budget 2022. All core social welfare weekly payments increased by €5. The weekly payments for qualified child dependents increased by €3 to €48 for children aged 12 or over and by €2 to €40 for children aged up to 12. Fuel Allowance, which is paid during the fuel season each year, was increased by €5 to €33 per week.

An additional payment of €125 was paid to recipients of Fuel Allowance in March 2022 and a further payment of €100 is now due to be paid to eligible CE participants.

The Government is acutely aware of the increase in consumer prices in recent months, especially the increase in fuel and other energy prices. To help mitigate the effects of these rising costs, the Government have recently introduced additional expenditure measures to a total of €505 million.

I am fully committed to the future of this programme and will continue to support and improve the programme for the benefit of the CE participants in particular, given the valuable contribution being made to local communities through the provision of services. However, any change to payment rates on the scheme would have to be examined at Budget time, in line with all budgetary priorities and commitments.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.