Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State has spoken of the overwhelming positive experiences reported by interns on this scheme. It would be helpful to recall that when JobBridge was introduced in 2011, many people were expressing frustration that jobseekers could not take up unpaid work experience opportunities either because they could not afford the expenses associated with going to work or, worse still, because they could lose their entitlement to their jobseeker payment. That was the situation I inherited.

In developing JobBridge, considerable care was taken to set conditions that would limit the ability of employers to exploit the scheme. There is a limit on the duration of internships - six months or nine months - and on the total number of internships that can be offered by an organisation. Permanent posts cannot be filled by successive use of internships and internships cannot be used to fill a position previously filled by a paid employee. The scheme is voluntary and all hosts are voluntary. I stress that all internships are also voluntary and subject to a standard agreement, which sets out the obligations of host organisations, including the provision of training and mentoring. Care was also taken not impose an elitist view of an internship as something that was only suitable as a means of accessing so-called professional careers by young graduates. Many people who are long-term unemployed value the opportunity to prove their ability via a work experience opportunity in occupations that are not the traditional reserve of internships.

I share the concerns recently expressed regarding the use of JobBridge by schools. I asked officials in the Department to remove some positions from the JobBridge website for this reason. Officials were also asked to undertake a review, together with their colleagues in the Department of Education and Skills, of the use of JobBridge by schools. I understand that this review is close to completion and that new guidelines will shortly issue to schools setting out clearly what is, and is not, acceptable use of the JobBridge scheme.

We have made similar agreements with a host of other sectors successfully.

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