Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief. I will follow up on personal progression plans, which have been raised, perhaps with the two companies that are here. It is important that we are clear that personal progression plans are not the same if it is in Intreo or if it is a public service that has been signed and it is a private company. We know that people have objected to signing. It was perhaps misleading to say that there was no judgment found. No judgment was found because the case was reassessed and the person no longer had a penalty applied. It was recognised as a mistake in the assessment by the Department. There is that clarity around personal progression plans and people's rights to not necessarily agree to them. That is where the random issue comes in. There is a question of data protection and people's private data being transferred from the Department to a company. Does there need to be a clear point of permission relating to that? How is that managed? What if somebody says that he or she chooses to be in the public service rather than not? We know that biometric data are moved back and forth. There is a situation, in the context that the Department has put out, where photographs and things such as previous history of disability payment, if people are moving off it, are looked at. What I mentioned is a real concern. Mr. McKeon mentioned those on long-term payments. The case I heard, for example, was somebody who was a caregiver. Somebody who had been in a caregiving situation was very keen to move back to education and restart their life, but found themselves selected and thrown into JobPath very soon after leaving caregiving because the person they were caring for had died. There is a question about exit routes. I know Mr. McKeon has mentioned the community employment, CE, scheme but none of the presentations here has mentioned education or activation into education. The six month stopping of the clock does not allow for persons to choose to enter a long-term route out of unemployment into education.

I have specific questions on education for the organisations but my other question relates to personal progression plans. How much of it is standard text?

Does it still include standard text that requires people to share information about the circumstances or situation of their family members or the people with whom they live? Does it still include standard text asking people to share information about an employer they may find, separate to Turas Nua, and for permission to contact that employer? We were told that people could take the personal progression plan home with them. Is it clear that people can take the personal progression plan, the PPP, home with them to seek advice on it before agreeing to sign it? What is the Turas Nua mechanism if a person is not willing to sign it but seems interested? Is there a protocol for moving a person back into the Intreo system in that regard?