Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

JobPath is a new approach to employment activation and it will help support people who are long-term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid work. Following the completion of a public procurement process, two companies were selected to provide the JobPath service - Turas Nua and Seetec.

Garda vetting is typically undertaken in respect of people who work in registered organisations through which they have unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults. In the case of JobPath staff, Garda vetting is not a mandatory requirement as their client base does not include such categories of people and as the work with clients is performed in a shared office with supervisors present. However, I am advised that both JobPath providers undertake background checks on prospective employees. These checks include independent verification-screening services, reference checking and, in some cases, Garda vetting.

In regard to the customer charter issue, this is referring to the Department’s Customer Charter 2013-2015 which contains a commitment to deliver a high quality service to all customers. That is why we have transformed all of the Intreo offices around the country. Deputies have complimented the Department on the changes we have made, which allow people make appointments and be treated with dignity, privacy and respect.

JobPath providers are required, under their contracts, to provide a service statement to each jobseeker that sets out the service that they can expect to receive. The service statement must contain elements that were specified by the Department including a service guarantee to ensure that all participants receive a baseline level of service and have access to a transparent complaints process. A copy of the service statement must be provided to each participant on JobPath.

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Both companies will be subject to regular on-site inspections and audits to ensure that JobPath is delivered in accordance with contractual obligations and the service statement. In addition the Department will commission customer satisfaction surveys to independently assess if customers who are referred to JobPath are satisfied with the level, and quality, of service delivered by the contractors. Failure by the contractors to satisfy the Department’s inspectors or to achieve a satisfactory score in the independent survey will result in payment penalties being applied.

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