Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to raise the issue of the important work being done in communities by local employment services and the great deal of uncertainty within those communities in respect of the indicated tendering process. It is not an unfounded concern because many of these partnership companies, or local development companies as they are often called, bear the scars of the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, process. That programme was often the other arm of the partnership model. I am mentioning partnership repeatedly because partnership was a response in the late 1980s and early 1990s to the problems that were happening in many communities. It was a way of ensuring agencies such as the HSE, education and training boards and the Department of Social Protection, along with local politicians and the community could come together with business and the trade union movement to ensure we could respond to the needs in communities. It is a model that did not come out of nowhere. It did not arrive on our doorstep as some theory-based model. It is a model that was championed by many people and is so important to communities. I will speak about why that is so in a moment.

The difficulty arises in the context of each Department seeking to comply with tendering processes and other measures. I was present at the meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts this morning when the Secretary General of the Department of Social Protection spoke about how these contracts are regarded as non-compliant procurement. The difficulty is that as we start to ensure they all comply with tendering regulations,we are separating out the local decision making each of the partnerships is able to make. That will strip away the flexibility in SICAP and local employment services. It will move from a local service to a regional service and suddenly it will have lost all the benefits the partnership model had.

I refer to the fears of local providers. None of them has any difficulty tendering but they have doubts regarding the need to tender to comply with European regulations. That is a legal issue. When the Attorney General says something, I have to listen and the Government has to listen, but there are differing legal opinions on this issue.

If we go though with the tendering process, we need to make sure that process recognises the expertise of many of the existing service providers and rewards them for it, compared with another company that does not have the same local knowledge. The process must ensure there is a pay and fee structure that is not all about progressing people to employment, because that means the quality work cannot be done that often needs to be done with people who are exiting long-term unemployment. We must make sure partnership bodies have the cash flow they might need to switch from the current system, in which they are paid per year, to one in which they would not be paid upfront but after the progression has been made.

It is crucial that the ability to react locally to local issues is retained. It must not, for example, be solely about referrals from the Department of Social Protection; there must be the ability to allow walk-in referrals as well. We have seen how this type of local response is crucial in communities, which I will speak about after the Minister of State replies. It is the backbone of what partnership is and the backbone of what these organisations do. If we continue to nationalise, through contracts, the different models they provide, we open ourselves up to the allegation that some of us in government are ideologically focused on a particular way of delivering a service rather than on delivering for the community.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I am grateful for this opportunity to discuss, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, the ongoing efforts to expand employment services in the State. I acknowledge that existing service providers are concerned about the future contracting of public employment services and I look forward to discussing this issue with the Deputy.

The Department of Social Protection is procuring a regional employment service, RES, over two phases. Phase 1 will see the new service commence in seven counties in the north west and midlands from January 2022. Phase 2, to commence shortly, will roll out the RES model throughout the rest of the State. This is a significant expansion of the State's public employment service capacity, with phase 2 services expected to commence from July 2022. The RES will primarily engage with the long-term unemployed, particularly those furthest from the labour market. When completed, the procurement will see the replacement of the local employment service, which currently services just eight counties in their entirety and another four counties partially, with a regional service covering all 26 counties. This is a welcome and significant expansion of employment services, providing comprehensive engagement, for the first time, for those furthest from the labour marker throughout the State.

The Department of Social Protection has signalled these changes for several years now, particularly since the publication of the 2018 Indecon reviews. There has been continuous engagement with local development companies and other relevant stakeholders since 2018 by the Minister and her officials. The latter have visited every single service provider in the State and the providers have understood for some time that the Department is changing how employment services are procured. In addition, the Department frequently meets with the Irish Local Development Network and has had intensive discussions with it on these issues. In early November, parties interested in tendering for the current phase were hosted by a Department webinar, involving more than 150 participants. After a presentation on the procurement phases, questions were taken for more than an hour. While the procurement process is competitive, in line with legal requirements, the numerous local and community bodies already supplying similar services on behalf of their communities will be well positioned to tender for the new lots and will, if successful, continue to deliver those services in their communities.

The RES lots will remain on a county or bi-county basis, where feasible, and function on a sustainable basis to provide the most appropriate service for the long-term unemployed. They will remain accessible and locally available services. Just as local employment services sprang up in response to unemployment blackspots in the 1990s, the RES is being designed to respond to the challenges facing the Irish labour market today. The key requirement in the request for tenders is quality of service in order to ensure that those who are long-term unemployed receive the quality service they deserve. The procurement will ensure the State adopts best practices when it comes to engaging with those furthest from the labour market. I have heard the same concerns that the Deputy expressed and I thank him for raising them.

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the Minister of State's response. I was disappointed to get a call from the Minister's private secretary only an hour ago to say she would not be able to take this debate. To be fair to her, she has met with me and many other Fianna Fáil Deputies to discuss this matter, about which there is grave concern. The work of a Deputy from one of the parties in government is often done behind the scenes rather than here in the Chamber. There are probably two instances in which we choose to raise matters in the House. The first is when we want to put on the record the work we are doing and the second is when we feel we might be getting the cuddly meeting treatment, where one meets with the Minister but, afterwards, one is not quite sure whether anything has changed. My fear is that we are getting a lot of consultation but I am not sure we are getting the change that is needed.

I acknowledge the Minister of State's reassurances on the finances and regarding existing providers. That is all very welcome and will go a long way to giving people reassurance on some of their concerns. However, I am not seeing what I would prefer, which is an assurance that services will stay local. I say that because a county-by-county provision would see Dublin city going from 11 different providers down to perhaps one to three. Even five would be too few. On the north side of Dublin, we have separate local employment services in Finglas and Ballymun as well as two covering the eastern side and the city centre. The idea that those four areas would be reduced into one does not account for a scenario, for instance, where there is a crisis in Dublin Port and a company closes. How could a regional service respond to that local need? If there were a huge boom of employment because of construction - perhaps in the Ballymun area, where we hope to build lots of new homes on empty lands and where we are looking to recruit tradespeople - there would not be the local employment services in the community to direct people from local schools or the local labour supply. If something like the Debenhams closure last year happened again, we would not have those local employment services in place to work with people who have lost their jobs. I hear everything the Minister of State said but I am also still hearing the word "regional" rather than the word "local", which is the cause of my concern.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I am not sure whether the Minister of State does cuddly meetings.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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It is the first time I have heard of cuddly meetings and I thank Deputy McAuliffe for introducing the term to Parliament.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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There is a first time for everything.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his contribution. I would like to reiterate some key points. The procurement process for the regional employment service is the outcome of a lengthy process of engagement and consultation with all existing service providers. The tender will allow the Department of Social Protection to procure employment services on a legally sound basis and in line with best practices. The RES will continue the delivery of accessible and local services. With the exception of Dublin, the services are being procured on a county or bi-county basis. Existing providers are well placed to submit quality competitive bids. I am not sure whether there will be three or five providers in Dublin but I am sure we can get that confirmed.

Phase 1 of the procurement has provided significant feedback for the Department, particularly around minimum referral numbers but also in regard to bringing clarity in respect of upfront payments and the front-loading of payment stages. The Department has worked hard to eliminate barriers for existing local service providers, which have been encouraged to work together, where necessary, to form partnerships for tenders. I understand the period after the publication of the request for tender will be longer than usual to facilitate the forging of such partnerships. Ultimately, the focus is on providing a quality service to the long-term unemployed. The bids submitted in phase 2 will be evaluated on the basis of their quality and the tenderer's ability to access a wide range of local supports and services that best meet their clients' specific needs. For successful tenderers, they will have more long-term contracts, greater freedom to manage their service and the capacity to be properly assessed for their performance. The new service will have a strong local focus and its fee structure will be heavily weighted towards client engagement. The Minister for Social Protection and her Department will continue to engage with the sector and listen to its concerns right up until the publication of the request for tender later this month.