Results 1,461-1,480 of 5,587 for speaker:Kevin Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Review (14 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: The organisation referred to by the Deputy is provided with financial support under the community services programme (CSP). The CSP provides a contribution to the wage costs of employing staff to develop and deliver services not otherwise provided or where insufficient demand exists or there are gaps in services. Following a review of the service in 2015, it was found that the level of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Services Programme (14 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: The organisation referred to by the Deputy is provided with financial support under the community services programme (CSP). The CSP provides a contribution to the wage costs of employing staff to develop and deliver services not otherwise provided or where insufficient demand exists or there are gaps in services. Additional resources were provided to the organisation in question to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Services Programme (14 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: The community services programme (CSP) is one of a number of programmes and schemes operated by the Department. It provides financial support to community companies that provide revenue generating services of a social inclusion nature. Many of these companies are also funded from other sources and generate revenue from the public use of their facilities and services. The CSP provides a...

Other Questions: JobPath Implementation (13 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: The first criterion that applies in respect of eligibility for JobPath is that the applicant must be long-term unemployed, that is, more than one year out of work. Selection is random, the objective being to ensure there is no cherry-picking of candidates. There must be equality of opportunity for everybody. Since being rolled out in Galway, the scheme has also gone live in Achill,...

Other Questions: JobPath Implementation (13 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: On the second question, there is ongoing co-operation and engagement through local Intreo offices. Where issues like those the Deputy mentioned have come up, they are covered under the contractual agreement. People are going to great lengths to ensure individuals can access the centres. Where there have been difficulties with transport, for example, minibuses have been hired to collect...

Other Questions: JobPath Implementation (13 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: I wish Deputy Kyne a happy new year. It is very unusual for a Government backbencher to have two priority questions, so he should invest in a national lottery ticket tonight. JobPath is a new approach to employment activation to support long-term unemployed people and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain employment. Two companies, Turas Nua and...

Other Questions: JobPath Implementation (13 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: Deputy Coppinger has her own mantra. If we look at the figures we can see that the vast majority of people who are moving back into employment are moving from part-time to full-time work. The vast majority of people moving into employment are moving into well-paid jobs, not jobs at minimum pay. I know the Deputy always wants to find the worst in everything. However, I put it to her...

Other Questions: JobPath Implementation (13 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: Deputy Coppinger spent a good deal of time referring to it but it does not apply. The Deputy is criticising what I believe is a good initiative to assist long-term unemployed people who lost their jobs at the beginning of the recession or who came out of college or school and were unfortunate not to get employment. Now, there will be a support service that will assist, help to build...

Other Questions: JobPath Implementation (13 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: I want to ensure this works. I will work hard to ensure that as many of the people I represent as possible have an opportunity to share in the recovery by going out to work.

Other Questions: JobPath Implementation (13 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: JobPath is a new approach to employment activation to support long-term unemployed people and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid employment. Two companies, Turas Nua and Seetec, have been contracted by the Department to deliver JobPath services. The roll-out of JobPath began last July on a soft launch basis in Bray and Longford. At the end of...

Other Questions: JobPath Implementation (13 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: What we are doing is very different from what was done in the United Kingdom and, as such, it is wrong to make comparisons. The baseline measurements, for example, are completely different. Further, one of the companies involved is a not-for-profit entity. I visited the two pilot projects in Bray and Longford. I made it my business to not only to meet the staff working there, who were...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Community Services Programme (13 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: The Deputy came just short of trying to put words into my mouth. Had he been listening, he would have noted I told Deputy O'Dea that mechanisms are being put in place within the programme to provide additional resources to any company with a short-term financial difficulty. Deputy O'Dea actually welcomed that. We hope a mechanism to deal with this matter on a case-by-case basis will be put...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Community Services Programme (13 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: On the Deputy's comment that this year is a 53-week social welfare week, we actually made provision-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Community Services Programme (13 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: -----last year for that. The provision has already been made.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Community Services Programme (13 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: This is a 52-week social welfare year.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Community Services Programme (13 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: No, but the Deputy made a comment earlier about 53 payroll weeks.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Community Services Programme (13 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: It was in the Estimate to make provision-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Community Services Programme (13 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: Provision was made in relation to that. It is not good practice simply to allocate public funds without an underlying rationale. It is not a stopgap measure. We are putting a process in place.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Community Services Programme (13 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: That process will be in place, I hope, by the end of the month. Certainly, the target is the end of the month. The objective of the programme is to have companies operating on a financially sustainable basis. Transitional financial supports will ensure this objective is pursued. We will work with the centres. With regard to the one the Deputy just mentioned, the Tánaiste herself was...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Community Services Programme (13 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for his question, which is on a matter we have already addressed. More than €1 billion was spent on a wide range of employment supports by the Department in 2015. This expenditure is being fully maintained in 2016. The CSP is one of these supports and provides financial support to community companies that supply revenue-generating services of a socially inclusive...