Ms Bríd O'Brien:

In response to Deputy Conaghan's question, many of the evaluations that have taken place use the word "activation" in a broad sense. These tend to be related to programmes the Department of Social Protection has rolled out or for which it has responsibility. There is a gap in regard to what is being provided by the education service per se, such as where people are going and what is happening. The one programme I am aware of which has been evaluated is the Springboard programme. One of the striking features of that programme is that once people go beyond the age of 45, their employment rate drops like a stone. As a person over 45, I find that scary. This, therefore, is a challenge.

Further work on some of the education programmes that are provided would be useful, particularly the personal and communal-family impact of people's engagement with those programmes and how we ensure that engagement results in people being able to find employment. It is important we are able to get a better sense of that. Some of the limited work that has been done suggests that some of the outcomes are not what we would all like them to be. As I said, more indepth work is required, focusing particularly on some of those interventions from a broad educational perspective and the value to the person of their engagement.

Deputy Byrne raised the issue of the language used. I appreciate that she does not like the word "disadvantaged" and can well appreciate that sometimes people do not like issues being articulated in a particular manner. However, we must be careful to avoid not laying out the issues to be addressed. On compulsory school attendance or compulsory engagement in anything, I, personally, and the INOU as an organisation do not agree with it. One of our concerns is that as a result of some of the changes currently taking place the system is becoming more directive and is not necessarily matching up people with the most appropriate opportunity for them. Often people take up opportunities because they fear that if they do not accept them their payments will be cut. For this reason, people are agreeing to take up opportunities that are not in their best interest. Again, we need to ensure that we develop services that are good at engaging with people and sifting through with them what is the most appropriate intervention-support to enable them to access paid employment sooner rather than later.