Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Why has there been an increase in the number of penalty strikes in regard to young people on the JobPath programme who for varying reasons are being described as not meeting their obligations or not trying sufficiently hard to look for work and therefore are in danger of losing some of their social welfare benefits, some of their dole payments? The total number applying was 2,409 in 2015, 3,211 in 2015 and in the first six months of this year, under the Government's new JobPath programme, it was 2,253, a very significant increase. Why has that increase taken place? Does it come from policy? Is it because we are now outsourcing the assessment of that? What is the reason for the significant increase?

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