Increase in the minimum wage and the impact on Community Services Programmes. 

Budget 2016 included the welcome announcement of an increase to the hourly minimum wage to €9.15 from 1 January 2016. 

While this is a welcome increase, there are serious implications for over 400 Community Services Programmes (CSP) funded by the Department of Social Protection and managed on its behalf by Pobal. This is due to the refusal of the Department to fund the minimum wage increase for these projects - Pobal have communicated that the annual grant allocation from 2016 would not be increased to reflect the increase. Under the CSP, Pobal’s annual contribution towards employing a stated number of fulltime equivalent workers is €19,033, inclusive of employer’s PRSI contribution. This is equivalent to paying the employee the minimum wage with the balance covering the employer’s PRSI. 

This move now has very significant implications for CSP-funded projects. In effect, the Department is asking projects to pay for this wage increase without any additional funding.

CSP-funded projects perform vital roles in their local communities and are a crucial part of the social infrastructure.  They are working with the disadvantaged and social excluded and are providing much needed supports and services in their communities. CSP projects are involved in wide range of activities such as; Accessible Transport, Care for the Aged, Community Development, Childcare, Local Arts & Heritage, Community Centres, Community Radio, Training Centres and Community Enterprises. Income generation is just one element of these projects and after they have generated enough income to fund overheads, training etc. there is no additional funding available to cover the minimum wage increase which has been imposed by the Department.

Please support this petition as many CSP-funded projects will be put in jeopardy if the Department does not agree to fund the minimum wage increase, with many vital services being lost to communities. The CSP plays a vital role in addressing disadvantage and provides long term employment opportunities for certain groups of people who have been previously unemployed.