Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That is basically what is involved. When people say "you will not go into government and you will not sit in the seats at Westminster", it is imbecilic. It does not even warrant a response. I will return to the issue, because that was a tactic on the part of Fine Gael to deflect from its importance.

It has been said throughout the debate that amendments, suggestions and positive things could happen with this. One could have said that 12 months ago. We were in the House 12 months ago and at the time we put all those issues to the then Minister, Deputy Varadkar, who is now the Taoiseach. He gave his responses and we told him what had to be done with JobPath, what had to be done to protect our most vulnerable citizens and what had to be done to give people genuine supports and pathways into employment. It made no difference. We told him the same thing again in March and on another occasion after that. Afterwards my colleagues in the Dáil produced the report. We have been listening to people from all over the country tell us the same things about JobPath and what it has meant to them.

We will oppose both amendments. Even at this late stage I ask Fianna Fáil to reconsider. We have been trying to do the right thing here for the last 12 months and Fianna Fáil is preventing us from doing it this evening. It is in Fianna Fáil's gift to support the motion and ask for this scheme to be stopped. We are asking that there be no new referrals.If, however, Fianna Fáil Members choose not to do this, in spite of their own colleague in the Dáil, Deputy O'Dea, speaking about how JobPath and the linking of sanctions and activation remind him of 1830s England and Oliver Twist in the workhouse, it will not wash. Are Deputy O'Dea's comments not enough for Fianna Fáil to support the abolishment of this scheme, along with the 12 months we have spent trying to persuade its members to change it? Talking about a knee-jerk reaction after 12 months just does not wash. I ask Fianna Fáil to think about this again because it is in its gift to support the motion here today.

The Fine Gael side suggested earlier that we do not know the difference between community employment schemes and JobPath. For God's sake, that does not even warrant an answer. Other things were said in respect of JobPath and how wonderful and good it was. The questions we have been asking about the scheme for more than 12 months still have not been answered. That is the bottom line. I cannot accept that. That is why, if this motion is not passed here, I will be asking for it to be referred to the Committee of Public Accounts. Perhaps it will get some of these answers which people deserve.

As the Minister of State has said, we have spent €71 million on this. We have had nine unannounced inspections. If a person is delivering a farming training course over the course of a week, a five-day period, chances are that there will be inspections on three of those days. It is not acceptable that there were only nine unannounced inspections when we have spent €71 million. This is a complete waste of public money, leaving aside what it is doing to the people on the scheme. The solution is to allow flexibility in the funding for local employment services and other service models. They need the funding to do the job which they are there to do and which they have always done. I am hugely disappointed. I am also very disappointed and angry that the Minister in charge, Deputy Regina Doherty, is not present to answer the questions about this scheme.