Ms Niamh O'Donoghue:

There has been a very significant shift in the last couple of years in regard to how we engage with our customers. The Deputy may appreciate that up to about two years ago we operated on the basis of what was called an employment action plan where there was a mechanism for referral of people who presented for unemployment that after three months on the live register they were referred to FÁS at the time and consideration given to whether employment support or training was required. That was a very blunt instrument in so far as that referral was done after three months regardless of the skills, background or experience of the individual who presented.

What has changed in the last couple of years is that we have introduced what we call a profiling model. This is a model that was developed with the ESRI to actually look at what are the kind of indicators of the potential for somebody to exit the live register of their own volition or what degree of support. It is probability of exit from the live register. It is called a PEX score.

In 2012, we started profiling new applicants and, really, the thrust under the original Pathways to Work document and mandate that were given by Government was to try and prevent a drift into unemployment by engaging with people early and looking to identify people who needed support to a greater extent, and referring them early for such support. What Pathways to Work did was shift the emphasis somewhat to the long-term unemployed. I am glad to say that in the course of 2013, working with the ESRI, we have profiled the entire stock of long-term unemployed that exist on the live register and we are now engaging through the Intreo service with this cohort. The whole thrust of that is to find out what their previous experience and vulnerabilities and needs are and to develop a personal progression plan with them that is absolutely tailored to their particular needs. It is a combination of engaging with them, as part of a group in the first instance, to give some basic information about the process and structures and then, on a one-to-one basis, develop this plan. Whether it is referral for soft-skills training or whether it is referral into a structured training programme, all of those opportunities exist. Our case officers - we have substantially increased the number of case officers within the Department - have some funding available to them to allow for those kind of interventions, particularly for those who are in vulnerable situations or who need additional support over and above somebody who has, maybe, a professional background or work experience in the not-to-distant past.