John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the news that JobBridge will be scrapped. That needs to be done with immediate effect. We should not wait until September. It needs to be done barring those who are already on the scheme.

When I looked at the website this morning, I saw new, fresh positions being advertised. There was an advertisement for an internship as a deli assistant. In my day such a position required probably a couple of days training to gain experience but the Minister is asking people to work 40 hours a week over a nine-month period for €50 extra on top of a social welfare payment to train as a deli assistant. Does the Minister agree that the scheme has fundamentally failed and that it has displaced work? That is quite clear. The scheme depressed job creation, facilitated wage avoidance and normalised work for little or no wages. It has put good employers at a competitive disadvantage. Does the Minister agree that JobBridge has resulted in the exploitation of workers by some individuals?

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