Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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5. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if there has been an assessment of job displacement prior to the extension of JobBridge to 18 months and the introduction of the Gateway programme in local authorities. [44056/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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As of 10 October, 21,842 internships have commenced, since JobBridge was launched in July 2011. Some 5,918 jobseekers are completing an internship, while 2,948 internships are advertised and available to jobseekers.

I am increasing the maximum number of internships a jobseeker can undertake from two to three and the maximum cumulative duration from nine months to 18. This measure is being introduced to give jobseekers who are dissatisfied with an internship and have not secured paid employment subsequent to an internship a further chance. It is important to highlight that this measure is being introduced in response to feedback from jobseekers who have participated in the scheme and was one of the recommendations contained in the independent review of the JobBridge scheme. It is also important to note that the maximum duration of an individual internship will remain at nine months and that jobseekers will not be allowed to take up more than one internship with the same host organisation.

The JobBridge scheme incorporates a number of design features to protect workers and jobseekers. These include a cap on the total number of interns that can be hired by any one organisation; limits on the duration of internships of either six or nine months; a cooling off period in order that organisations cannot hire interns one after the other in sequence; requiring organisations to appoint a mentor for each intern, complete a standard agreement for each intern and provide an undertaking that the internship is not being used to displace employees.

Host organisations are not permitted to advertise internships in areas where they have recently made redundancies or where they currently have paid posts advertised. They must also complete and submit a monthly compliance report to the Department. The Department monitors and enforces compliance by screening all applications and providing an online facility for interns or others to report breaches of these conditions. We also conduct random site visits. Approximately 9,000 organisations have sponsored interns in the public, private, voluntary and community sector and over 3,400 monitoring visits to these organisation locations have been completed to-date, of which about 98% have been satisfactory. Remedial action is taken in all cases of non-compliance.

The independent evaluation by Indecon found that 61% of interns went on to achieve paid employment. This is one of the most successful outcomes in Europe for a scheme of this kind.

Additional information not provided on the floor of the House

This demonstrates that JobBridge is delivering for thousands of jobseekers by providing them with the opportunity to gain relevant work experience, knowledge and skills in a workplace environment.

The introduction of Gateway, a partnership with local authorities, will provide employment opportunities for those who are on the live register for 24 months or more and currently in receipt of a jobseeker's payment. Gateway aims to improve the employability and work readiness of participants by providing them with the opportunities to put their work skills into practice and learn new skills to enable them to progress to work, further education or other development opportunities.

The process of identifying work opportunities is under way in each county and city council, including the necessary consultation with stakeholders. Extensive exploratory work was carried out on the preparation of the scheme by officials from the Department to ensure there would be no displacement from the scheme.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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The reality is that just 19.5% of interns found employment with their host organisation. It is not surprising that the bulk of the Minister's reply concerns measures to prevent abuse by employers of the internship scheme and interns. This is no coincidence because the scheme is abusive in itself, essentially providing free labour for employers. It is quite clear that the JobBridge and Gateway programmes are a ruse to reduce the figures on the live register by 11,000 and a lame excuse for the Government's failure to invest in the creation of jobs with real wages. Does the Minister agree that the facts damn her? Young people are not hanging around unemployed. There were 32 unemployed persons for every job vacancy in August this year. The result of the Minister's shameful measure in cutting the benefits for young people up to age 26 years will be to force them into a situation where they will be subjects for free labour and abuse. The anecdotal and real evidence from many participating in internships is that this is exactly what is happening.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Deputy seems to have much less hope, optimism and admiration for young people than I do. I speak as someone who has taught tens of thousands of students at third level in a long career spent with young people. I suggest the Deputy walk down any street in Ireland - or perhaps he might come with me - when he will meet young people and their parents who have had a very positive experience of internships and subsequently going on to find employment. In the United Kingdom and the United States internships are the preserve of wealthy, well connected individuals who ask for their sons or daughters to be given experience in companies and organisations in which their friends and peers are involved.

We have opened it to everybody, and Deputy Higgins can examine the personal stories of the people who have been successful.

With regard to the measures on jobseeker's allowance to which the Deputy referred, as I stated on budget day - perhaps he was not listening - the actual extra investment by the Department of Social Protection in young people in parallel with this measure will be €46 million-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Thank you.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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-----whereas the saving to be made from the changes in the jobseeker's allowance will be €32 million. One of the most important initiatives, which I hope Deputy Higgins will promote, is that employers will be given an incentive of €300 a month from 1 January if they take on a young person who has been unemployed for more than six months. If they take on a young person who has been unemployed for more than two years they will receive €400 a month cash back. There will be great interest in this from employers and young people, because all the young people I know desperately want to work and use their talents and qualifications. It is our job politically, and I put it to Deputy Higgins that it is his job also-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I ask the Minister to please-----

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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-----to help young people go back to work and not create for them the self-image that he seems to be setting out of languishing on the dole for the best years of their lives. This is not my ambition for our young people and, as the Deputy is a socialist, it should not be his.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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This is a pathetic bit of bluster. The reality is that young people are being driven out of this country at a rate of 50,000 or 60,000 a year by the Government's failure to bring in real measures and real investment, such as a wealth tax which would yield €1 billion or €2 billion to invest in real jobs, as opposed to the Mickey Mouse stuff the Government is doing as it slavishly adheres to the troika programme of sending billions to it every year instead of putting it into investment.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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A question, please.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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The Minister should be burning with shame today as a result of her attacks on the elderly, young pregnant women and young people. It is all the more shameful that she does it on the 100th anniversary of the fight by working class men and women against the abuse of workers young and old. The Government has lined up with the very type of speculator responsible for this tragedy and the Minister comes across with these pathetic schemes-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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This is Question Time.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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-----instead of real measures. I ask the Minister to call off her assault on young people and replace it with real investment for real jobs and real hope, and not to patronise people, as she and the Taoiseach have been doing, to cover up a vicious assault on a group of young people who are desperately looking for employment although the jobs are not there. Does the Minister agree that 32 people into one job does not go?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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There is a time limit of one minute for a supplementary question and one minute for the reply.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Deputy Higgins's attitude to young people disappoints me terribly. When his party ran a certain council across the water it had to hire taxis to send out redundancy notices to the poor unfortunate workers of that local authority.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Absolute nonsense.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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It is an historical fact.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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The Minister should read history.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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With regard to Larkin-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Can we stick to Question Time, please?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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-----and the anniversary of 1913, if Larkin were alive today he would want - and this is what the strike in 1913 was about - people to get work where work was closed off to them on the docks and in other employment. The Deputy has a nerve-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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We will now move on to Question No. 6.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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-----to come in here and disparage our young people-----

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Who is disparaging the young people?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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-----and to say-----

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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The Minister is the one disparaging the young people. She has no future for them.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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-----our young people are only capable of being on social welfare.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Please.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Deputy Higgins's only vision for our young people-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I ask the Minister to respect the Chair.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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-----is life on social welfare rather than getting a job.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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We are 15 minutes over the time allocated for Priority Questions.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Deputy Higgins is seriously lacking in understanding of the importance of work in the lives of people who must earn their living-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Minister.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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-----in order to be financially independent.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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The Minister offers up young people for slavery and free labour. That is the reality.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I called Question No. 6.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Twenty-one thousand young people have undertaken internships-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Minister, please.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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-----and 60% of them have found employment.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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This is not a debate. This is Question Time.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Deputy Higgins seems to regret young people getting work. He is seriously misled.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Free and slave labour.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Seriously misled.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I ask Deputies to please stick to the allocated time. If they are not happy with the allocated time they should ask their Whips to change it at the Committee on Procedure and Privileges. We are 16 minutes over time for Priority Questions, which means Ordinary Questions will get less time.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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It would be very difficult to make Deputy Higgins happy, from my acquaintance with him over the decades. I am sorry I have not succeeded, but perhaps when he reads up further he will come to have a change of heart.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Minister can have a chat with him afterwards about it. Let us get back to Question Time.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I am happy to give him more information on internships and perhaps-----

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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The Minister has not been too happy herself for the past couple of weeks.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I ask the Minister to deal with Question No. 6.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Perhaps he will be converted to the cause of getting young people work.