Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the officials for attending today's meeting. Mr. Lynch has said that people who are on the back to work and back to education schemes are not put on the JobPath scheme. While participants in the JobPath scheme will not be referred to community employment schemes because they are allowed to participate in just one activation scheme or service at a time, I understand that customers who, on the date of their referral to JobPath, have written offers with starting dates within four weeks will be facilitated. Why can people participate in one activation scheme only? Both JobPath and community employment are activation schemes, to a certain degree. They provide training to people in the hope that they will go on to get a job. What is the barrier in this regard? Surely we should be more flexible.

If a person on JobPath is not happy on that programme and after six months there is a potential place on a community employment scheme, can we not be more flexible and say that is okay?