John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am not quite sure whether JobPath comes in here or elsewhere. Reading through the Revised Estimates, it is very unclear. There are only two or three references to JobPath. Any time I ask questions, I am told it is a commercially-sensitive matter and the Department cannot give out figures or statistics or any information on the contracts that are in place with Turas Nua or Seetec. I will raise the issue of JobPath because, like thousands of people out there, I am deeply concerned. The Minister will say that he has the results of a customer care survey, that the number of complaints is low and that his concerns have not been raised regarding the negative experiences people are having. The reality is that people are being hounded and they are petrified. They are afraid to make complaints. They are afraid to raise any concerns because the threat that their payments will be suspended or cut or that they will be penalised is constantly hanging over their heads. There are huge concerns, which I share. I have asked the Minister repeatedly to carry out a review of the operation of JobPath.

He has stated it has not been in place long enough to carry out this review. It was piloted in Bray and Longford and has been in place for two years in these areas. It has been in place a year in the rest of the State, since it was rolled out. It is timely and appropriate that a review is carried out.

The Department's target for 2017 is to refer 60,000 long-term unemployed people to JobPath, but the outturn for 2016 was 76,400. Why is the target so low this year in comparison to last year? The Minister often refers to contracting-out employment services in the UK and uses it as an example, but a 2004 report from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee recommended greater transparency in the scheme there, with regard to visibility to the public about suppliers' performance, costs, revenues and profits. All of this is hidden away from us. We do not know what has been achieved. We do not know targets or performances. What are the Minister's views on this? He constantly cites the UK example. Does he share the concerns with regard to the alarm bells that went off in the UK in the Public Accounts Committee?

With regard to the fees payable to these private companies, Turas Nua and Seetec, have they been reduced in line with reductions in unemployment by between 4% and 16%, as was planned within the contract? Will the Minister gives a bit more detail on this? More than 94,000 people have gone through, or are going through, JobPath through the two companies. There are huge concerns. Is the Minister happy with their performance? Are they hitting the rates of employment they are contracted to meet? Why are the employment finding rates in the contract set at lower levels than those for local employment services, which have higher expectations? Why is the bar so low? It is 14.4% for the JobPath companies. The Minister can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe this is the figure set for Turas Nua and Seetec. Why is it so low? I would like clarity on some of these points.