Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will get the exact figures for the Deputy. The scheme also allows local authorities to take on people who approach them, provided that they qualify, namely, they have been unemployed for the requisite period. A number of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil Deputies have reported that people approached them to seek to go on schemes. We provide for that but there is also an element of random selection. The reason for this is very simple. Sometimes when people are called to a random selection, they are too busy to make time to drop down to their local Intreo offices. If they are that occupied we need to find out why. Sometimes they have even left the jurisdiction. The random selection is very helpful. Some people who are randomly selected, particularly in respect of Tús, are delighted to be invited because they have never seen themselves as being able to work in their local community and do something valuable. The random selection is helpful.

According to figures from the middle of July, the data collected in respect of the 6,430 jobseekers who were selected to date for Gateway indicate that six jobseekers were subject to sanctions resulting in the temporary disallowance of up to a maximum of nine weeks of jobseeker's payments. A further 80 jobseekers' claims have been closed following engagements between officials and jobseekers. In some of these cases a different payment was deemed more appropriate to the individual's circumstances and processes are ongoing in a number of cases which are not represented. If we make contact with somebody through our activation process and he or she does not respond, we follow that up. In some cases there are good reasons for this. The individuals concerned may be ill, for example. However, we want a response from them and, as people show up to collect payments, I see no reason they cannot show up to discuss an opportunity.

In regard to these opportunities, approximately 10,000 people are in receipt of enterprise allowances and 20,000 are on the back-to-education allowance. There is a huge flow of people in and out of these allowances. In respect of the numbers on JobBridge and Tús, to date more than 32,000 people have been on JobBridge schemes.