Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy is aware 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 projects are in diverse areas and include the development, regeneration and enhancement of community spaces, environmental maintenance, early years, and after-school supports, heritage, arts, culture, tourism, sport, recycling and repair of equipment, visitation, friendly call, and befriending programmes for older people.

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 and introduced a new flexible pension model, with effect from January 2024, whereby people have the option to continue working up until the age of 70 in return for a higher pension.

The new measures are specifically for people in standard employment situations and do not apply to State supported schemes like CE, where the participant qualifies due to being on a specific social welfare payment in advance of their placement on the scheme. Accordingly, the position regarding funding for CE participants remains as heretofore.

Should participants wish to continue to work after they reach 66, it is open to them to apply for positions that are not state funded. There may also be the option to continue to support and work with their CE scheme in a voluntary capacity.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.