Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste and I are often at loggerheads on social welfare issues but moving towards an integrated service is one of the logical steps her Department has taken which should have been done many years ago. There are problems, however, with some of the progression plans being given to jobseekers. In some cases, for instance, they are unhelpful or unrealistic for the applicants for whom they are devised. Is any assessment undertaken with jobseekers who have gone through the process to see whether the system needs to be tweaked to ensure people get the fullest benefit from the positive changes that have been made? We have moved from a system of dole offices to one comprising offices that offer a good deal of other services. The idea was sold that this would involve a one-step process, with people moving directly into education or employment. However, some jobseekers seem to be stuck in the middle and are not moving forward because of the barriers the Tánaiste mentioned, which are apparently not being taken fully on board by some case workers.

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