John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government commits to developing work activation, social protection and further education services to ensure a seamless service for jobseekers. I want to raise the issue of JobPath and its privatisation through the two companies, Turas Nua and Seetec. After years of requests, we have finally got damning statistics relating to the privatisation of that service. The figures were given to the Committee of Public Accounts in recent weeks and they show that 190,000 citizens have been referred to those two companies at a staggering cost of €149 million. The most damning statistic is that of the 190,000 people referred, only 17,100 have been in sustained employment for over 12 months. Does the Taoiseach view it as value for money that €149 million has been spent and 17,100 jobs sustained? Given those damning statistics, will he immediately stop the referral of people to Seetec and Turas Nua?

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