Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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76. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will provide an update on the tender for EmployAbility that was due to be published in April 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24662/23]

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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EmployAbility services provide sustainable employment opportunities for people with a long-term illness, injury or disability and support them into employment. There is currently supposed to be a process to EmployAbility service contracts put out to tender, similar to the tendering of local employment services and job club services over the past two years. I urge the Minister to avoid changing the payment model for EmployAbility under the upcoming tender, which was due to be published in April. When can we expect it?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this. My Department currently provides employment services for people with disabilities through 23 EmployAbility-contracted service providers across the State. My officials have commenced a procurement process to update current EmployAbility services to comply with legal advice from the Attorney General and Chief State Solicitor’s office and to meet the Department’s objective of shifting emphasis from financial monitoring of service providers to focusing on service quality for clients.

It is not the intention of this procurement to significantly change the services currently provided to clients. The proposed new EmployAbility contract model aims to enhance the autonomy of the service providers, giving them more control over financial and staffing decisions to enable them to provide a high quality employment service for people with disabilities.

Stakeholder engagement is a key aspect of this procurement and my officials have met with each EmployAbility service provider individually in recent months to discuss the planned procurement process. This engagement will continue until the publication of the request for tender planned for later this year.

I have arranged to meet with the chairs of all the EmployAbility companies so that I can hear their views directly on the forthcoming process. I look forward to a positive engagement with them later this week.

In addition, my Department is examining what practical assistance can be provided to ensure a level playing field, removing any obstacles for existing service providers to the submission of a competitive tender. It is in everyone’s interests that my Department continues to provide a quality employment service for people with disabilities and my officials will continue to work with all stakeholders on the best way to achieve this while ensuring contracts are legally compliant. I trust this provides clarity regarding my Department's current proposals in this regard.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister mentioned that it was her responsibility to ensure her Department provided these services. The fear regarding a tender is it will not be the Department but somebody else on behalf of the Department who will offer these services. It is crucial the Department learns the lessons from the previous tender process that saw community-based, not-for-profit employment services dismantled and the commodification of people seeking employment through the implementation of what appears to be a profit-focused model. We stood against the privatisation of employment services and continue to oppose a payments-by-results model for job activation and employment supports. In particular, EmployAbility services support people with long-term illness, injury and disabilities and it is not appropriate to implement a model that seeks to place them in any job whatsoever, regardless of suitability, which payment by results can lead to. These are some of our most vulnerable citizens. I am hearing from people that clients and staff are extremely stressed because this has not gone away. It seems to be pushed back but there is great uncertainty about timing and what will happen next.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I have very little choice here because the legal advice from the Attorney General and the Chief State Solicitor’s office is that we are in breach of procurement law and these services have to go out to tender. I want to put the Deputy’s mind at ease. I recall last year every time the Deputy’s predecessor, Deputy Kerrane, and I came in here for parliamentary questions, Deputy Kerrane said the existing providers would lose out under the new tender process for the local area employment service. She said they would be decimated. What actually happened was the existing local groups won in every area. Community-based, not-for-profit organisations provide local area employment services across the country and we expanded the services to more areas so we could make sure everybody get the benefit of it. I was talking to one provider the other day and he said it was the best thing that happened because they have more flexibility and autonomy in managing their affairs and that it is working much better for everyone. He said it worked out a lot better than they had thought, and I said I was glad.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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That lady or gentleman is not any of the people I have been speaking to about their experience of it. If the Minister is getting legal advice from the Attorney General or Chief State Solicitor, I am sure they will tell her if a tender is put out then anyone can win and she cannot guarantee the outcome of it. They will tell her in any such process the outcome cannot be decided by the Department and cannot be decided by them either. It is all about the terms and conditions the Minister puts forward. Perhaps she will be able to put forward terms and conditions such that only community providers can win but I doubt it will be possible to do that legally.

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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That is what she did last year.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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It is not the Deputy's question in fairness.

I do not believe this is necessary. It is possible to provide them the autonomy necessary, if that is the issue, without a tendering process. We need to avoid a for-profit model. We need not look very far. We can look across the water and see the dangers a results-based model can lead to.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As I said, I spoke to one of the providers last week. He had been against it and had said it would not work and he genuinely said to me it is working. The providers have more money as well, and that is helpful in making sure they provide the service.

I am meeting the chairs of every EmployAbility company on Thursday morning. I want to hear what their concerns are and how we can work with them to address those concerns. There is clear legal advice so we have to do something but I want to make sure we get it right. My ultimate priority is the service user, the person with a disability who we are trying to help. I want to make sure whatever we do, we get it right for them. In fairness to Deputy McAuliffe, he is close to one of the schemes in his constituency. I took on board the concerns raised and I think there are others who will be able to say this is working well. I will listen to them all on Thursday morning because we want to try to make sure the person with the disability gets the best possible service.