Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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One of my questions follows up on that question of the contract agreement and the referrals and the 60,000 every year as an average of the 240,000. I noticed in the presentation from Seetec that it is mentioned that 40% of its customers or clients have been unemployed for between two and five years, 24% between six and ten years. Are we then to understand that 36% of Seetec's clients are not in that two to ten year period of unemployment?

Are we to understand that 36% have been unemployed for less than two years? Is that the case? Perhaps the same question could be answered by Turas Nua. We have had increasing reports of persons who are very new to the live register, to jobseeker's allowance, for example, persons who may have come out of periods of caring and elsewhere, who find themselves being referred very early to JobPath. That is something the Department could answer, with regard to increasing referrals from those who are not in the long-term unemployed bracket.

Will the witnesses clarify the random selection? There is a real concern about the suitable measures. Will the witnesses deal with that question about whether people are randomly selected and about the referrals back? This is the procurement section of my questions.

To follow up with Mr. McKeon, we are not speaking about job creation or clients served. Neither of those metrics might be the correct metric. I suggest that the correct metric in a jobseeking service might be considered to be the numbers of jobs found. I do not think anybody was suggesting that jobs need to be created but jobs need to be found. Is it still the case, as was suggested at a previous meeting, that we are looking at approximately €13,000 per job found as opposed to per client served or job created?

The issue of flexibility was put forward as a key rationale for taking this route at a particular time. Is there perhaps a danger for flexibility, that when we tie into a contract which requires us to refer 60,000 cases a year, or 240,000, that we may be looking at a lack of flexibility? For example, it could be that local employment services and others, perhaps even tailored and specific services, are not getting the referrals because there is an obligation to ensure 60,000 clients move through.