Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Anybody who has experience of this issue does not believe that this is not a process to privatise the service. I have listened to the workers, spokespersons for the ILDN and LES managers. I sat in a committee on many a morning and listened to them clearly outline why this will be a disaster for communities, in particular those most at risk and those who are vulnerable. There is no doubt about it. People on the ground have said they will be left behind.

I call on the Minister of State to protect the not-for-profit and community-based ethos of community employment services and to suspend all of the plans to issue tenders for employment services. It is important to hear the words of people who have been working in the area and have run these services for 20 years or more.

New models of employment services are being rolled out without any forum having been established that researches and scopes out the best model of employment services for those outside of the labour market. This removes any element of choice from citizens of the service. Everyone, regardless of whether they are on the live register, will be required to access public employment services only through the Department of Social Protection in the first instance.

The model proposed by the Department is unsuitable and for-profit and has not been proven to work anywhere in the world for those who are distant from the labour market. It is not evidence based. It has not been tested or piloted. It has not received the endorsement of any academic researchers, the Labour Market Advisory Council, the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, or the Oireachtas committee that I sit on.

Those who have commented have rejected the approach. The proposed model transfers risks from the fund to the contract holder, thus jeopardising not-for-profit community organisations, not just at the bid stage but in its implementation. It transfers the potential future risk of substantial redundancy costs if future contracts are not secured after the initial term. I urge the Minister of State, at this late stage, to listen not just to us but to those who have decades of experience in this area.

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