Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

It is a contradiction in terms, as I am sure the Minister will agree, to talk about having a sustainable job for three months. A key issue is skills shortages in the economy. Another is the lack of skills among the long-term unemployed. These are the two issues which should be served by the Department, but they are not. Does the Minister accept that potentially there is a significant value for money issue if the Department is tied into a JobPath contract which it cannot change when it is not actually upskilling the long-term unemployed to meet the skills shortages in the economy? Does he accept that there is a need to review the approach to JobPath and ensure, if possible under the contract, the emphasis is switched from getting people into a job at any cost towards identifying the skills shortages of individual long-term unemployed persons and ensuring they are equipped with the skills they need to enable them to find good quality jobs which will be sustainable?

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