Dáil debates

Tuesday, 15 July 2014

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions

National Internship Scheme Administration

2:20 pm

Photo of Aengus Ó SnodaighAengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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64. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on the decision to withhold the names of 68% of the companies benefitting from a significant public subsidy via the JobBridge scheme; her views that this creates a secret competitive advantage for those companies funded by the State; her further views that her Department was correct to give companies the option of not having their name shown on the JobBridge website and then to equate this with a commitment of secrecy; and the steps she will take to protect the public interest in the proper and accountable use of public moneys channelled through the JobBridge scheme. [31163/14]

Photo of Aengus Ó SnodaighAengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Cosúil leis an Teachta O'Dea, ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a ghabháil leis an mbeirt Airí agus tá súil agam go mbeidh an chuid seo do thréimhse Rialtais i bhfad níos fearr ná an chuid dheireanach agus go mbeidh siad in ann déileáil le roinnt de na ceisteanna a d'ardaigh muid le tamall.

This question is to find out whether the Tánaiste agrees that the public has the right to know the names of the companies which are getting a subsidy of €82.3 million in the form of millions of hours of free labour under the JobBridge scheme and whether she agrees that her Department was wrong to deny my freedom of information request with the release of only 32% of the names of those companies benefiting from this lucrative public subsidy, with 6,500 interns engaged at present and a further 11,000 due over the next year.

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Ar an gcéad dul síos, ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil don Teachta mar gheall ar a chomhghairdeas dom féin agus don Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys.

JobBridge has provided a valuable work experience and development opportunity to more than 30,000 unemployed jobseekers with approximately 7,000 jobseekers currently engaged on an internship. Independent research has shown that 61% of interns progress to secure paid employment, a progression rate that is higher than for any other employment programme. JobBridge is designed to overcome the barrier whereby unemployed jobseekers need experience to secure a job offer but cannot gain experience without a job. Although it is a service for the benefit of jobseekers, JobBridge requires the voluntary co-operation and commitment of employers to offer internship opportunities. Host organisations have a responsibility to offer a quality internship and development experience to prospective interns to improve their employment prospects.

Since its inception in 2011, more than 13,000 employers have participated in the JobBridge scheme. All of the funding for the JobBridge scheme goes directly to the intern and no funding is provided to the host organisation. I wish to stress that participation in JobBridge is on a voluntary basis for both interns and host organisations. In line with standard international practice in the recruitment industry, the Department provides employers with an option not to publish their names on the JobBridge website. Regardless of whether the hosts name is published, JobBridge is intensely monitored by the Department. In this regard, more than 6,600 monitoring visits to employers have been carried out to date. In addition, the Department has a mandatory monthly reporting system for both host organisations and interns to ensure compliance with the spirit and rules of the scheme. If any issues are raised, particularly by the intern, these are fully investigated by the Department.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

I am satisfied that JobBridge is a very successful programme and I am confident that the extensive monitoring system put in place by the Department is effective at preventing any potential abuse of the scheme.

Photo of Aengus Ó SnodaighAengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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As I stated, I received a partial freedom of information response within which I obtained some of the briefing documents with which the Tánaiste is provided when answering questions, one of which was from November 2013. At that point, in the event of a question being asked about what control measures the Department of Social Protection had in place to monitor internships, the Department deemed the voluntary nature of JobBridge to be an important matter in this regard and advised it was an important part of the control measures and criteria in place to protect the interns and to ensure the integrity of the JobBridge scheme. The intern could, at any stage, leave the internship if he or she so wished. Why did the Tánaiste decide to jettison this important safeguard just two months later, in January 2014, when she announced that JobBridge would be mandatory for young people under the Youth Guarantee?

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I will take the last question first. The reason is that as the Deputy is aware, very young people who have no engagement in the labour market get a reduced rate of payment. If, for instance, they undertake a JobBridge experience, in some cases young people who have left school early may not even have finished the junior certificate or possibly have not completed the leaving certificate. In the whole approach to the Youth Guarantee, the Government wishes to end the position where unfortunately, a small group of young people in some areas opt to go directly onto social welfare.

We want to offer them instead an opportunity to engage in education and training, including apprenticeships and work experience that includes learning. This is part of a strategy of asking young people to engage positively, rather than claiming social welfare and limiting their prospects of securing employment and financial independence.

2:30 pm

Photo of Aengus Ó SnodaighAengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Tánaiste referred to progression rates. A recent article listed the number of people who have taken part in JobBridge, the number currently on the scheme and the number of interns who subsequently found employment in the Department in which they did an internship. It found that of 261 interns in Departments, only one was offered a job and in that case the offer was for a six month contract only. Contrary to the figures the Tánaiste repeatedly cites from the Indecon report, only one quarter of interns in the public sector got a job afterwards and many of the positions they secured were not related to the internship.

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Indecon evaluation of JobBridge found that more than two thirds of internships were in private sector organisations, 22% were in the public sector and 9% were in community and voluntary sector organisations. As the Deputy is probably aware from his experience in the community sector, internships are highly sought after because of the number of fantastic people graduating from different courses and training, right up to postgraduate level and other senior levels, who find it almost impossible to get a job because they cannot get experience. Without experience, these graduates are locked into a catch-22 scenario.

The reason for the higher rate of employment among participants who complete their internships in the private sector is that private sector organisations frequently take on an intern in anticipation of hiring the person subsequently. The internship offers a mechanism for commencing a hiring process and giving experience. In the case of small and medium sized companies interns are frequently recruited when the internship finishes. The figure in public sector organisations is 41.2% and the figure in the community and voluntary sector is 43%, which is not as high as in the private sector.

Photo of Aengus Ó SnodaighAengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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The figure for the subsequent employment of interns in Departments is 0%.

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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That is not true over the-----

Photo of Michael KittMichael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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We must move on.