Written answers

Tuesday, 7 March 2023

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection

Community Employment Schemes

Photo of Mark WardMark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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445. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason persons aged 66 years cannot remain working at a CE scheme; the reason those who are currently on an old-age pension cannot start a CE scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11443/23]

Photo of Joe O'BrienJoe 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.

CE sponsoring bodies receive state funding to cover the salary costs of supervisors, assistant supervisors, and participant remuneration, along with training and material costs from my department.

CE is a working age activation scheme and CE participants who continue to be funded through CE must be of working age. As a consequence, funding for CE participants is provided up until a CE participant reaches the state pension age, which is currently 66, and this is also the reason that those who are currently on a State Pension are not eligible to participate on CE.

As the Deputy will appreciate, any extension to participation on CE beyond the State Pension age could undermine CE as an active labour market programme, which has as an objective of helping people back to work.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

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