Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate. JobPath is nothing more than an attempt to privatise and outsource our social welfare system, and it has been an utter disaster.

These companies are only interested in making a profit and they get paid a registration fee for every jobseeker on their books. I spoke to a former employee of one of these companies and she told me staff were very clearly told to focus on the more highly skilled individuals in the scheme. I asked the reason for that and her response was that such people would probably find a job anyway, and if they did, Turas Nua and Seetec could collect their payment for that.

I raised before in this Chamber how teachers working part-time as substitutes, along with other skilled workers, are being forced into jobs that do not suit them simply so these companies can collect their job sustainment fee. Instead of participating in a box-ticking exercise and forcing people into any job, even if it does not suit them, we should have more focus on further education, upskilling and genuine supports for our unemployed. This scheme is a complete and utter joke and it has been since day one. We need to end the privatisation of our social welfare system.

See this speech in context