Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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46. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of jobseekers who have entered the JobPath programme since its commencement; the number who faced sanctions from her Department in each year on foot of this interaction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43634/19]

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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My question is on the number of jobseekers who have entered the JobPath programme since its commencement, the number who faced sanctions from the Department in each year on foot of this interaction and if the Minister will make a statement on the matter.

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Legislation provides that sanctions or penalties in the form of reduced payments may be imposed by a deciding officer of the Department where clients fail, without good cause, to co-operate with the Department's activation processes. A reduced payment rate can only be applied in specific circumstances and following multiple warnings. All jobseekers are required to engage with my Department’s activation service and this obligation applies irrespective of whether the service is provided by my Department’s own case officers, those contracted through the local employment services or by the JobPath providers.  Contracted providers cannot and do not apply penalty rates but are obliged to report the facts and circumstances of a case to a deciding officer of my Department who, on careful consideration, may apply a penalty rate, where appropriate. There has been no change in policy or the implementation of penalty rate provisions in this respect over many years.  Penalty rates are only applied as a last resort.  If dissatisfied with that decision, it is open to the jobseeker to appeal to the social welfare appeals office.

The introduction of the JobPath service in mid-2015 has complemented my Department’s existing activation services and has facilitated a very significant increase in the numbers of jobseekers to whom activation services can be provided.  Between July 2015 and September 2019, some 244,000 jobseekers have engaged with the JobPath programme. It is not possible to disaggregate easily, on a retrospective basis, the number of people who at any time were both engaged in JobPath and on a reduced rate of payment.  However, by way of indication, there are currently 66,000 jobseekers engaged with the service of which 432, or 0.6%, are currently on a reduced, or penalty rate, of payment. By comparison, there are 183,700 people on the live register with a further approximately 43,000 engaged in training and employment programmes, giving a total of about 227,000 people who are subject to activation. Of these a total of 1,103, or 0.5%, are currently on a reduced rate of payment.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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In February, a motion was passed in this Chamber calling for the Minister not to renew the contract for JobPath. In response to a parliamentary question last month, the Department told me there was an option to renew it for two years. Is this also for new referrals? There has been a 36% increase in the figures for people receiving penalties between 2017 and 2018. It is highly ironic that people's very basic living money, the amount they get on social welfare, can be penalised, in the context of the penalties that apply in this House to Deputies who misuse the voting system. It is extremely unfair to apply this sanction to people. The two companies engaged by the State, namely, Turas Nua and Seetec, have received €75.7 million and €73.3 million from the State so far. Is the Minister renewing the contracts and will the penalties apply to new or existing people on the scheme?

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Given the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the potential - God forbid - for losing 40,000 or 50,000 jobs, the Department triggered an extension to the provisions of the existing contract and agreement was reached with the JobPath providers to extend the existing contracts by one year, with referrals on that JobPath programme up until 2020. It is not a renewal of the JobPath contracts but an execution of the extension clause that was already in the contract. The extension is important, given that we face an uncertain year next year and the need for scalable activation, which I hope we do not need.

Penalties only come at the very last resort of deciding officers in the Department and there is only a marginal difference between 0.6% on the JobPath programme and 0.5% on the live register. There is no difference in the application of deciding officers.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Minister is saying there will be no new referrals to JobPath but that the contract will be extended for a year. Will the extreme circumstances of Brexit be used as an excuse to bring penalties on those who are suffering job losses, such as those announced in Shannon and Cork in the past day or so? One figure suggests that only 9% of participants have secured long-term employment but research has shown that, as we saw in the committee, the scheme is often used in a patronising, cajoling, threatening and manipulative way and that many people identify the service as deliberately attempting to lower their expectations of work, wages and the way it interferes with family and caring responsibilities. It is time we put an end to this unnecessarily cruel system and we may save €150 million for the public coffers by doing so and by ceasing to penalise people who are unfortunate enough to be long-term unemployed and in receipt of job benefits. I know many people who have felt the threat, the cajoling and the bullying that take place through these so-called "activation of labour" organisations.