Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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8. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will commission a further, and comprehensive, evaluation of the JobBridge Scheme, in view of the changing economic context in which it operates. [9312/15]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Minister take an honest look at the JobBridge scheme and its wider interaction with the labour market to ensure that further paying jobs are not displaced, given that the original Indecon report dealt with year 1? It is now four years in place. Does the Minister consider it appropriate at this stage to have a further evaluation?

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Yes. Given that economic circumstances have improved significantly over the past two years, it is now appropriate to review the performance of the various employment programmes operated by the Department. In this regard, as part of the Pathways to Work programme, the Department will during 2015 undertake an evaluation of a number of programmes, including JobBridge. This evaluation will include an econometric analysis of outcomes for participants compared to outcomes for control groups of similar non-participants. The evaluation approach will make use of data from a longitudinal jobseekers’ database developed by the Department over the past three years and is expected to produce insights to inform policy choices, including the potential redesign or cessation of schemes.

By way of update, over 37,700 jobseekers have voluntarily commenced internships on JobBridge since 2011, there are currently 6,140 interns on the programme and a further 1,129 positions are advertised on the JobBridge website. The last large-scale independent review of JobBridge was completed in 2013 by Indecon. This review was based on a survey of over 2,300 interns and over 1,500 host organisations. It showed a very low level of job displacement, 3%, an overall high level of satisfaction, 66%, and a very positive rate of progression to paid employment, 61%.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister of State quoted 3% as the percentage of employers that admitted using JobBridge to replace existing employment. He did not quote the other figure, that a whopping 29% of employers said that in the absence of JobBridge they would have taken on a person in paid employment instead. We are poles apart on JobBridge. I will not persuade him here. However, even if he looks at today's JobBridge website, he will see the job displacement. Five of the positions on the first page of the website are sales reps. They are straight-in, entry-level positions. Nine months of training are not required for sales reps. Another position is as a general operative on a golf course. This does not require nine months training, but just a week or two. In the past, young people in particular could walk in off the street and get this type of position. I am urgently asking the Minister to set a date for that review and to have it completed as quickly as possible so that the displacement by JobBridge of paid jobs can be exposed properly.

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I will not take up too much of the Deputy's time on this matter. Displacement has been at a very low level. In his own report, there were about 450 complaints out of approximately 40,000 people participating in JobBridge. He will not convince me that JobBridge has not done an excellent job in the period we have experienced. It has kept people in touch with the workplace, has allowed them to keep up their experience, to enhance their CVs and move into jobs. There is a time and place for everything to be reviewed and it is now the time and place to look at JobBridge again. As a result of the change in the economic climate, we are now getting more and more people back into work, which is very welcome and which I am sure the Deputy will also welcome. People are also going back into work on very good salaries. However, I am very anxious that people who have lost touch with the workplace have that opportunity to gain the relevant experience to enhance their CVs and be in a strong position to apply for and to get the jobs that are coming back into our economy.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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The figures in the Indecon report commissioned by the Department are outdated, but even they showed that many of those who progressed on to work were on lower pay than their colleagues after one year. Any new study would bear out this experience. Does the Minister of State accept that interns making complaints during their periods of internship or afterwards endanger their chances of having good CVs? This is one reason for the majority of interns not making complaints.

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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We do not just rely on the places. There is a high rate of visits by the Department. According to a recent report conducted by the National Youth Council of Ireland, 80% of participants who joined the scheme gained work experience or new skills, which is a high level. There is time. The economy is changing and the opportunities to return to the workforce are greater than they were a few years ago when the scheme was introduced. We will review it.