Dáil debates

Wednesday, 25 May 2016

Ceisteanna - Questions (resumed) - Priority Questions

National Internship Scheme Review

1:30 pm

Photo of John BradyJohn Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

27. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if he has completed the review into the JobBridge scheme; and if so, the reason he has not published it. [11889/16]

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

A commitment was given in Pathways to Work to develop and implement a programme of evaluations to assess the impact of the Pathways to Work initiatives. One of the first schemes selected for evaluation was JobBridge. The aim of the evaluation is to assess the effectiveness of the scheme in terms of its key objective of improving employment outcomes for unemployed jobseekers. The evaluation involves a number of elements including surveys of host organisation and participants to capture their perspective on and experience of JobBridge; an assessment of whether JobBridge might be displacing paid employment in the economy; and a comparison of employment outcomes of JobBridge participants matched to a control group of non-participants. The research is currently well advanced and I expect to receive an interim progress report towards the end of June and the final report in September.

The JobBridge scheme has been an effective labour market intervention to date. Some 15,000 interns went directly into paid employment immediately following a JobBridge internship. Independent research indicates that rose to 29,000 interns, or 61% of all participants after five months, compared to an average of 34% for comparable programmes in other European countries, so it is almost twice as effective.

I know people who took part in JobBridge and have benefited from it, but it was very much a scheme for its time, and I am planning to replace it with a more appropriate scheme. JobBridge was launched at a time of massive economic uncertainty and widespread unemployment. Companies were simply not hiring because they could not afford to recruit, and in many cases insisted on a minimum level of experience. However, large numbers of recent graduates and people who lost their jobs in the recession could not get the relevant workplace experience they needed to get a first or a new job. That crisis is now over, the economy is growing and employers are hiring again. The labour market has changed and new graduates are once again finding work.

Unemployment has fallen below 8% for the first time since the crash. Although the evidence is largely anecdotal, I am concerned at reports that some employers might be using JobBridge as an alternative to hiring new employees.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

On the other hand, I am very conscious that there are still many people who lost their jobs in the depth of the recession who are struggling to break back into the labour market and schemes like JobBridge can provide a valuable pathway to such citizens, in particular in instances where it is associated with a training programme. The Indecon review in September will provide an evidential basis upon which to consider what changes should be made to improve outcomes for jobseekers and value for money for the State.

Photo of John BradyJohn Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome the news that JobBridge will be scrapped. That needs to be done with immediate effect. We should not wait until September. It needs to be done barring those who are already on the scheme.

When I looked at the website this morning, I saw new, fresh positions being advertised. There was an advertisement for an internship as a deli assistant. In my day such a position required probably a couple of days training to gain experience but the Minister is asking people to work 40 hours a week over a nine-month period for €50 extra on top of a social welfare payment to train as a deli assistant. Does the Minister agree that the scheme has fundamentally failed and that it has displaced work? That is quite clear. The scheme depressed job creation, facilitated wage avoidance and normalised work for little or no wages. It has put good employers at a competitive disadvantage. Does the Minister agree that JobBridge has resulted in the exploitation of workers by some individuals?

1:40 pm

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

First, as the Deputy is or at least should be aware, the scheme is entirely voluntary on the part of both the employers and those taking part in it. No one was ever required to take up a JobBridge internship. When I was at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, we had JobBridge interns, some of whom went on to full-time jobs. It is important to ask people who have taken part what they think of the scheme, and 65% of those who took part stated that they would recommend it to a family member or friend, while 89% stated that it had given them new skills. These are people who actually took part, and it is more important to listen to them than to the activists - who of course have their views, to which they are entitled.

However, it was a scheme for its time and it is outdated. I intend to either abolish it altogether or replace it with a more targeted scheme in September. However, I do not wish to throw the baby out with the bathwater, and I wish to allow Indecon to finish its work in order that it can help inform me on what scheme should or might replace it. I certainly am open to suggestions from Sinn Féin as to what it considers should replace it.

Photo of John BradyJohn Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

When businesses advertise JobBridge internships in which they seek applicants such as fully qualified architects or, as in a more recent example, a fox hunting organisation advertises for the position of first whipper-in, it is clear that the scheme has been and continues to be abused. What will replace JobBridge? The Minister stated that he would look forward to proposals from Sinn Féin. Last year, Sinn Féin produced the document I have to hand, Displacing JobBridge, which would see tailored internships as opposed to the one-size-fits-all approach that is part of JobBridge. Will the Minister examine this document? Will he examine the primary legislation proposed by Sinn Féin within this document to provide safeguards for internships? I have to hand a copy of this document, which I will gladly hand over to the Minister for him to examine so that he can consider the items contained therein.

Photo of Seán Ó FearghaílSeán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. The Minister to conclude.

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

An independent review already is under way, commissioned by my predecessor as Minister, Deputy Burton. It is important to wait six or seven weeks to get that review in order that it can be considered fully. I certainly will take a look at Sinn Féin's paper with regard to its proposals on what should replace JobBridge. As stated previously, it was a scheme that was established at a different time, a time when employers, and small employers in particular, could not afford to take on people. It was at a time when people could not get any work experience. What happened was that when people took up internships to get work experience, they lost their jobseeker's benefit. It was a real problem at the time that those who wished to take up work experience lost their jobseeker's benefit, but how else were they meant to get work experience? It was a double jeopardy for them, and that is why the JobBridge scheme evolved and why it was welcomed initially by many people who subsequently came to oppose it. However, it is now out of date and I wish to abolish it entirely or replace it. I certainly am open to suggestions on how it can best be replaced.