Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am asking the Minister if there is a clause in the contract between her Department and the JobPath providers, who have been given another 12-month period, that allows her to reduce the fees being paid to those companies. The Minister made a few points. She spoke about value for money. I will give her a brief example in that regard. More than 1,000 people have been referred to JobPath for a third time. Every time someone is referred, the companies get a payment of €311. The Minister mentioned a cost of €873 and she also said they are paid when they source employment for somebody. The initial referral fee is €311. That has been paid three times in respect of just one person. It is paid over and over again. That is a total of €1.2 million alone in referral fees for the more than 1,000 people who have been referred three times. Someone in contact with my constituency office yesterday had been referred for a third time. I do not see that being value for money.

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