Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish this evening to raise a very serious issue regarding the JobPath scheme. The scheme is not fit for purpose. I say so because the nature and level of complaints I am receiving in my office is of serious concern. I appeal to the Minister to take these complaints on board. Many Deputies have previously raised this very issue in the House. Constituents tell me that they feel they are being harassed and forced to take up positions under the JobPath scheme to which they are simply unsuited and which will not allow them to upskill. These are very constrained positions which do not allow them to develop their skills. I have been contacted by constituents of mine who have spent all their lives in a trade, for example, on a building site. They are forced to go to a Seetec office, sit in front of a computer and type up a CV. This is done without helpful assistance and in a manner which demeans and humiliates them. It is completely wrong that this is happening in 2016. Another constituent, who would have had much to offer in the local community under a CE scheme due to his vast local and historical knowledge, was told that he could not avail of the opportunity of a CE scheme. This is crazy. This man has much to offer, yet he is being denied that opportunity. People are being forced to turn down genuine opportunities that would provide them with skills and an appropriate career path so that the private operators behind the JobPath scheme can get their returns. That is what it is about. It is an agenda. It is about achieving results, but it does not matter how they go about achieving those results. They clearly go about it in a very heavy-handed manner.

There is a genuine concern among jobseekers that this scheme is seen as a way to reduce their social welfare payments without meaningful engagement suited to their needs. Figures released by the Minister's Department show that a penalty has been applied to 499 people in respect of the scheme. We recognise that there needs to be a system whereby jobseekers are given appropriate training and support in order to upskill and enter the jobs market.

There must be compassion and understanding. As I have stated, many of these people worked for 30 years and found themselves without employment because of austerity and everything else imposed on the country. The country was wrecked and it is not the fault of many of these people that they have been forced into this system. People have complained about harassment, which is extremely worrying, and having to attend a Seetec office two mornings a week. It is my understanding that at least 140 complaints were lodged in respect of the two companies providing this service.

As I said, many people have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. It was the failed policies of propping up the banks that led many to their current position. These people are not criminals but they have fallen on hard times and need our support. This scheme strips them of their dignity, which is unacceptable. JobPath is causing untold damage to community employment, CE, schemes. I attended a meeting only last week in Tullamore hosted by CE-sponsoring bodies in Offaly. They included Offaly Centre of Independent Living and Offaly Local Development Company. Of these two bodies, one supplies workers to support people with disabilities but they are being denied that opportunity. That means people with disabilities are now being affected and communities are being denied the help of community employment schemes put in place by the Offaly Local Development Company. Such schemes bridge the gaps left by cuts in local authority funding. What is happening is absolutely crazy.

These bodies argue that many local organisations that provide vital services to vulnerable people in the community cannot fill CE vacancies because of JobPath. In Offaly, there is annual expenditure of €10 million across 22 projects for CE schemes, supporting 349 bodies across 160 local groups. They provide vital services like meals on wheels, child care, after school services, men's sheds, senior citizen activities and many more. In many cases these schemes shore up the shortfall in public services due to the cuts that have ravaged the sector. CE schemes are vital in rural Ireland and many community projects do fantastic and invaluable work. They Minister may not be aware of them.

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