Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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301. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to address the pay-scales and current pay rates of the community employment supervisors and assistant supervisors; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46864/22]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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Community Employment (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 who are the legal employers of their CE supervisors, CE assistant supervisors and CE participants. CE sponsoring authorities receive state funding to cover the cost of remuneration, training and material costs from the department. CE scheme supervisors and assistant supervisors are employees of private companies in the community and voluntary sector that receive public funding.

The employees concerned are not public servants, but employees of individual schemes. Any increase in pay rates that would potentially increase the overall cost to the state of funding schemes or state funded activities in the wider community and voluntary sector must take into consideration the potential cost to the exchequer.

My Department acknowledges the valuable and dedicated service that CE supervisors and assistant supervisors provide in running CE schemes in delivering local based community services while providing a valuable training and development opportunity to the long-term unemployed and to those often furthest removed from the labour market.

I trust this clarifies the matter.