Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Pathways to Work represents the most significant ever change to the manner in which the State engages with and provides services for people who are unemployed. It delivers on the programme for Government commitment to create a co-ordinated employment and entitlements service and involves a multiannual programme of complex legislative, organisational, process, people and work change which runs to the end of 2014. There are five strands to Pathways to Work, including engagement with people who are unemployed, the provision of activation places and opportunities, incentivisation to take up opportunities, work with employers and reform of institutions. I am satisfied that we are making good progress on all of these elements. Last year, for example, 68,600 clients participated in a group engagement process, while more than 40,000 clients have benefited from such engagements already in 2013. Similarly, the Department conducted 158,000 initial one-to-one guidance interviews with jobseekers last year. The target is to complete 185,000 initial interviews in 2013. Under the Intreo model being rolled out across the country, the process of engagement starts immediately when a client registers for a jobseeker's payment and is informed by a personal profile captured in respect of each individual. That happens for everybody who signs up.

I note that we are entirely dependent on the OPW for the update, refurbishment and supply of offices, where required. For example, the Waterford offices are expected to be completed by the end of the year, which is a positive development.

With regard to the provision of the one-stop-shop element of the service, the first 12 Intreo offices are now live. We are converting a further 31 offices to full Intreo service providers by the end of the year. Many of our offices are offering Intreo services while they wait for physical refurbishment to take place. We intend to complete the full roll-out to all 63 offices of the Department in 2014.

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This element of the new service is dependent on the acquisition of new properties and the structural modification of existing properties and, therefore, has the longest lead time to completion. The implementation of more intensive and rigorous case management requires that additional resources be devoted to the activation process. In this regard, the implementation of the new Intreo process and the integration of previously separate functions in FÁS, the community welfare service and the Department of Social Protection are creating efficiencies that will enable staff to be redeployed to case management activities. It is expected that 300 staff will be redeployed to these activities by the end of the year, which will enable the Department to continue to resource its activation agenda. In parallel and in order to augment and complement this effort, the Department is considering greater use of contracted resources. Towards this end, it issued a prior information notice of a potential tender competition on 28 June 2013. Feedback on this notice will inform the further evaluation of the contracting option.

I am satisfied that the redeployment of staff, combined with potential use of contracted resources, will enable the Department to complete its roll-out of the Pathways to Work model on schedule. The particular concern expressed by the troika related to the first strand of the programme - the pace at which we are changing how we engage with people who are unemployed and the extent to which we can resource this new engagement model.

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