Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward the motion, which I will be supporting. I have had lots of engagement with people in local employment services since these proposed changes were published. It is safe to say the changes have not been met with resounding approval by them. One such email I received recently was from a lady in County Wexford who works at Wexford Local Development, WLD. She pointed out that, on 9 November 2021, the Oireachtas committee published its report supporting the retention of LES, while on the same day the Department of Social Protection was hosting an online information session for prospective tenderers for employment services.

Some of the main issues that were highlighted in the email I received are issues I have already represented in writing to the Minister's Department. The Department did respond. The issues include the following. Impossible timelines have been set without any back-up plan to support long-term unemployed individuals who need one-to-one support. Wexford is about to lose a highly regarded quality-assured local employment service. The effects of this decision will be felt from 2022 onwards, when it will be too late to correct the damage. The LES contractors have been informed they will only receive a six-month contract for 2022, then the service will end. This service will be replaced by a model which will operate similar to the current JobPath, and with the price paid per client instead of a not-for-profit model. If we look at what happened in the past as a good guide to future behaviour, we can see there is not sufficient time to have this in place by 1 July 2022. For example, the JobPath request for tender was issued in December 2013 and successful bidders were only announced in July 2015, commencing operations in late 2015. The uncertainty for the skilled local employment service staff throughout the country is extremely stressful. Every day, LES staff professionally assist unemployed individuals to identify their strengths, develop new skills, boost confidence and find employment. The feedback from clients keeps the LES positive, but the current cruel uncertainty is taking its toll.

Wexford Local Development provides local employment services. It is a not-for-profit organisation that was set up in the early 1990s to help those in long-term unemployment. If the proposed changes are introduced, organisations such as WLD and others throughout the country will be placed in an invidious position. They essentially have two choices. They either tender for the LES or they do not tender. If they tender, they will not be able to provide the service within their budget and therefore will be financially unsustainable because the costs are front-loaded. If they do not tender for the LES, their main purpose for existence will be lost.

Organisations such as Wexford Local Development have done fantastic work through their existence. They have great experience in getting people back and ready for work and are invaluable to society from that point of view. One of the key aspects of the work done by WLD is the time and effort it puts into helping those with special educational and employment needs to develop themselves into a position where they are ready for employment. Under the new scheme, the time will not be available for such work and those who benefited from it will be lost in the system and will find it difficult to be in an employable position, possibly ever. It can take up to two years to help get an individual ready for the world of work. The new scheme only provides for a time period of 12 months.

The other issue raised with me by members of Wexford Local Development is that the new scheme allows for a maximum of 438 clients per year for the entire county of Wexford. To put that into context, there are currently nine guidance officers in Wexford, with a caseload of approximately 150 cases each, which represents 1,350 cases, not counting walk-ins. A reduction of 900 cases is very concerning. We cannot allow hundreds of people in need of employment support to slip through the net.

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