Paul Donnelly
Question:163. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her views on the difficulty posed by auto enrolment for TUSLA-funded projects (details supplied). [12268/26]
View answerThursday, 19 February 2026
Questions (163)
Written answers
The Department of Children, Disability and Equality welcomes the Auto-Enrolment Retirement Savings System launched in January 2026. The Auto-Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA) will have responsibility for employer compliance, with Revenue providing support by supplying payroll data for identification and enrolment purposes.
All employers are required to comply with the legislation underpinning MyFutureFund, regardless of their status or funding arrangements. This requirement applies equally to employers including where employees are on short term contracts or working multiple part-time jobs. MyFutureFund will be central to helping people increase their financial security in their retirement years.
Agencies, organisations and charities that will be covered by the new auto-enrolment scheme are generally funded under Section 56 of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013. These organisations receive a portion of their funding from Tusla to deliver agreed services. Funding is provided to organisations by Tusla through the grant process.
These organisations are independent entities, and as such employment contracts and obligations (e.g. auto-enrolment, pay, pensions) are matters between the employer and their employees. As these staff are not public sector employees, responsibility for meeting obligations under the new auto-enrolment scheme rests with their respective employers.
I appreciate the critical functions these organisations carry out and would like to thank the staff and volunteers in all those providers for the key work, care and support they give to improve people’s lives.
Tusla continues to engage with organisations it funds and will look at the level of need in this area. It is anticipated that Tusla will gather information from organisations with a view to preparing a comprehensive business case to put forward as part of their estimates bid for budget 2027.