Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As Members of the House will be aware I have already announced that I plan to replace JobBridge with a more targeted scheme later this year. I believe that economic and labour market conditions have changed for the better since the scheme was introduced in 2011 and that the time may now be right for a more targeted scheme. JobBridge was developed in 2011 in response to the unemployment crisis to serve a dual purpose. First, it was to help jobseekers to secure work experience vital to enhancing their employment prospects and break the vicious circle of "no experience no work, but no work no experience". Second, it was to support employers in taking the first step in recruitment at a time when access to finance was limited and business risk was high. JobBridge also addressed the anomaly in the social welfare code whereby unemployed jobseekers who voluntarily undertook unpaid work experience or internships lost their entitlement to a jobseeker's payment. Under JobBridge, participants retain their jobseeker's payment and, in addition, receive a top-up towards the cost of work of €52.50 per week.

JobBridge has been successful in meeting its objectives over the past five years. It has helped about 19,000 - mainly small - employers to provide valuable work experience to almost 48,000 unemployed jobseekers. An independent evaluation of JobBridge published in 2013 found that overall satisfaction levels with the scheme were high. Two thirds of participants would recommend the scheme to a friend or family member, and levels of abuse of the scheme by employers were relatively low. Most notably, the evaluation found that about 61% of participants progressed into paid employment within a short period of completing their internship. This is a high progression rate and suggests that JobBridge has been instrumental in helping about 30,000 jobseekers to secure employment.

Notwithstanding these achievements, JobBridge has been subject to a high level of criticism, much of which is based on small-scale surveys by various interest groups.

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I intend to respond to these criticisms in the design of a new scheme. It is important, however, that the design of a new scheme is informed by the best evidence possible. It is for this reason that I intend to await the results of a second large-scale evaluation of JobBridge currently under way. The results of this evaluation, which is again being undertaken by Indecon, are expected in September and I will announce my proposals for a new scheme shortly thereafter.

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