Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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397. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if community supervisors will be permitted to apply to extend their retirement age to 70 years for those turning 66 years from January 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3019/23]

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 sponsor organisations that receive state funding from the department to cover the cost of CE participant, supervisor and assistant supervisor remuneration.

As the Deputy is aware, in response to the recommendations from the Commission on Pensions, a set of new pension measures were approved by Cabinet in September 2022. The set of reforms agreed include maintaining the state pension age at 66, introducing a new flexible pension age model which will mean that from January 2024 people will have the option to continue working up until the age of 70 in return for a higher pension. The new model, once implemented, will apply to workers across the state including CE supervisors and assistant supervisors.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.