Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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Question 49: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the action he is taking to increase the number of interviews and consultations for jobseekers during the course of their unemployment. [43831/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The number of interviews or consultations that a jobseeker will attend over the course of his or her claim will vary from person to person. Customers claiming jobseeker's allowance may have to be interviewed by an inspector at the beginning of their claim and at any subsequent review of their means. Once a customer is three months on the Live Register, he or she will be selected for interview by FÁS under the National Employment Action Plan (NEAP) and may also be interviewed or elect to consult with the job facilitator at any stage during their claim. The Department refers a number of people that have been through the NEAP process to facilitators on a monthly basis. For entitlement to a jobseeker scheme, the customer must be available for and genuinely seeking work. As part of the normal control process, a future review date is entered on the payment system for all jobseeker customers. Additional review dates are entered, as necessary, throughout the life of the claim. At each date the claim is reviewed and, where necessary, the customer is interviewed to ensure that he or she continues to satisfy the conditions of the scheme.

The current system of interviews and consultations provides the Department with opportunities to assess a customer's commitment to seek work and his/her availability for work. In addition, it provides customers with opportunities to discuss the employment and education opportunities available to them at various points in their claim. The current arrangements are kept under review.