Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh, agus fearaim céad fáilte roimh an Aire. Tá mé thar a bheith buíoch di as teacht isteach leis an gceist seo a fhreagairt. The Minister will be aware of concerns raised previously about JobBridge. We believe it is stopping the provision of real jobs and is leading to exploitation of workers. There are many ludicrous examples of internships which are not real but which are being tolerated. Vacancies for hotel receptionists, waitresses, car valets and telesales assistants are all advertised on the website as of 6 o'clock this evening. These internships are potentially displacing real jobs. It does not necessarily take 40 hours a week for nine months to learn how to clean a car, change a bed or carry plates. All of these jobs are relatively easy to learn but they involve hard work and in our view this is work which should be paid for.

The level of unemployment and under-employment across all these fields is critically high. JobBridge further reduces the number of paid jobs available. The Government should be embarrassed to call this a jobs initiative. In our view, JobBridge is the new minimum wage.

The Minister stated that JobBridge is a central plank of the Government's jobs strategy, but there is zero evidence of strategic thinking. A genuine internship programme would improve a person's job prospects. There are no jobs, so why should employers hire people when they can get them for free, courtesy of the State? The scheme is so poorly designed that it is ripe for exploitation. It needs to be significantly reformed.

In 2010, the US Department of Labor produced six criteria governing internships, one of which provides that an employer cannot hire an intern for free unless he or she derives no immediate advantage from the intern's activities. This is designed to ensure that an internship is a benevolent act by an employer, rather than a form of exploitation. We would agree with this.

We have a number of concerns about the application of the JobBridge scheme, particularly in the public service. We would like to know whether there is any vetting of those who take up these internships. Are safeguards put in place for them during the course of their employment? We do not suggest that those availing of schemes such as JobBridge should not be entitled to enter into jobs in the public service, for example in Departments, organisations, agencies and companies. In such bodies, however, it is possible that they will come into contact with sensitive information and personal details, etc., some of which could be very important. When we discussed the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012 last week, the Minister, Deputy Shatter, said that ten people had been brought into the bureau under the JobBridge scheme to clear the backlog of vetting applications. That is where this concern arose. We feel there is a need to ensure safeguards are in place so that JobBridge applicants who are employed in State bodies are monitored to ensure sensitive information is treated with the appropriate gravity and care.

The other concern we have that is specific to the public service is an obvious one. The JobBridge scheme is meant to be a route to employment, but where is the employment in the public service? The Government is quite proud of the recruitment embargo in the public service. There is questionable value in forcing people to work for their welfare for a few months, in workplaces that need real full-time labour, before showing them the door again. While they might pick up some experience, it is absurd that people who want to work and are keen to do so cannot be allowed to do the additional full-time work that needs to be done in parts of the public service. We cannot match the two up.

We are concerned about the possibility of young interns being exploited, and we are particularly concerned about the possibility that the State would be exploiting them. These interns will do what they can to impress and improve their knowledge. Many fine, skilled young people are being lumped into Departments and agencies that are struggling to cope with their own workloads. There is every possibility that the young people in question will find themselves exploited by having to cover enormous amounts of work far beyond their experience. That is why I have asked the Minister this question this evening. In light of the confirmation by the Minister, Deputy Shatter, last week that ten interns have been placed in the vetting bureau, it is important for us to get a breakdown of the number of JobBridge participants who got placements with State Departments, organisations, agencies or companies and were subsequently given employment by the bodies in question when those placements came to an end. I ask the Minister to provide some clarification in response to that question. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus tá mé ag súil go mór lena fhreagra.