Results 21-34 of 34 for jobpath speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: EU Employment Legislation and JobPath: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Mar 2018)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...of a year can be significant. What are the links with the back-to-education scheme? How are routes back to education managed within the services? How could it be managed differently than from JobPath?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: EU Employment Legislation and JobPath: Discussion (8 Mar 2018)

Alice-Mary Higgins: A number of issues have already been covered so I will focus on one or two in particular. Before talking about JobPath, I have a few questions for Ms Murphy about the directive. I note that one of the aspects of the directive that has been very much welcomed by the European Trade Union Confederation and others is protection for trade union workplace representatives and for collective...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: EU Employment Legislation and JobPath: Discussion (8 Mar 2018)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The crucial issue is that if JobPath is part of the activation infrastructure that we provide, it needs to be that rather than a punishment. If someone-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: EU Employment Legislation and JobPath: Discussion (8 Mar 2018)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...an active route to activation, be it back to education, Tús or CE, surely it is extraordinarily inappropriate to say that it has been decided that they will instead spend a year in purgatory and JobPath. I would like back to education, which is related, to be-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: EU Employment Legislation and JobPath: Discussion (8 Mar 2018)

Alice-Mary Higgins: What about providing an exit route from JobPath into another suitable scheme?

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (13 Dec 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...third parties contracted by the Department for the purposes of labour activation and not by the Department itself. I am thinking of agencies such as Turas Nua and Seetec which have been contracted in respect of the JobPath programme. There may be another way to ensure that the issues are addressed but the guidelines that I am proposing would touch on a number of issues of concern around...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Labour Activation Measures: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...sanction as a motivator. In terms of what Dr. O'Sullivan finds to be a motivator, is it around producing options through casework? We are seeing a higher density of caseworkers, for example, with JobPath, but there are still questions around the quality of that casework. How do we ensure casework is effective and that options are being presented? In terms of Dr. O'Sullivan's experience...

Seanad: JobPath: Motion (15 Nov 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...out of unemployment, be that education, training or employment and that there is a need to give people a range of skills and options in terms of courses. However, we must ask a few questions about JobPath. Is JobPath an appropriate tool? Is it adequate? How is the scheme operating? To be clear, everybody who is here is concerned about ensuring that the State does more to support...

Seanad: JobPath: Motion (15 Nov 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have not said a fraction of what I want to say. We have a serious concern about how JobPath was set up and we have serious concerns about how it has been rolled out. As I have only one minute left I will focus on one of my key areas of concern but I will raise all of them again and at meetings of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection. I am seriously concerned about the...

Seanad: JobPath: Statements (21 Mar 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Minister for the opportunity to discuss JobPath, which I recognise is one part of a comprehensive set of other measures we are discussing in the Committee on Social Protection. I have two or three questions on JobPath. A concern I have in respect of JobPath, and I would appreciate the opportunity to have it addressed, is that it saw a very rapid scaling up, with 60,000 talked...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Labour Activation Measures: Department of Social Protection (20 Oct 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...some ameliorating attempts in the way the contracts have been designed, there are a couple of fundamental issues. Leaving aside some of the bigger questions on the role of private companies in JobPath and how the targets work, I am concerned about the question of education outcomes. What potential is there through the JobPath system for an education outcome for an individual? Is it the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Labour Activation Measures: Department of Social Protection (20 Oct 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...list of options under Gateway, or with a specific list of courses. People are asked whether they have been engaging with something that fits the model of a certain company, having been referred by JobPath. One does not choose to refer to JobPath; one is referred to JobPath. What is the route back for somebody who says "I am sorry, I know you think I am going to end up in employment...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Labour Activation Measures: Department of Social Protection (20 Oct 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...actively engaging with the other half of that equation? There is the question of choice. We did not get an answer in terms of those schemes where there is constrained choice, such as Gateway and JobPath. What is the route for an individual who is given a limited set of options to get engaged again with the system to look at a wider range of options? Is the Department considering a...

Seanad: Public Procurement: Statements (12 Jul 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...State to see if the Office for Government Procurement will in due course take full responsibility for procurement policy and procedures. We need to move beyond pointing to EU rules. I have seen that happen with JobPath, for example, where we were told the reasons we have this system. There is huge scope for clarity and we need to be clear about the powers and choices we have. This is...