Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Question 58: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if the 7,500 places under the work placement programme announced by the former Minister in December 2010 are still in operation. [12200/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Work Placement Programme was established to provide an opportunity for people who are unemployed to take up voluntary, unpaid work experience placements. The rationale for the Programme is to keep people as close to the the labour market as possible during a time of job shortages and increased competition for jobs. The 7,500 places under the Work Placement Programme are still in operation. Since its commencement, some 3,753 people have participated on the Programme.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 59: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the functions, design and roll-out date of an organisation (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12105/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Programme for Government states that a new National Employment and Entitlements Service will be established under the management of the Department of Social Protection. The objective is to integrate the employment support services currently provided directly by the Department of Social Protection with those currently provided by FÁS into a single service. This service will also process payments in respect of employment related benefits and other benefits payable by the Department of Social Protection. The integration of employment services and related benefit payment services within the Department of Social Protection will provide a 'one stop shop' for people wishing to establish their benefit entitlements, seek employment and / or seek advice about their training options. The focus will be very much on the individual, his / her rights to a payment, his / her access to an opportunity to engage in employment, training or upskilling, as appropriate and his / her responsibility to engage with such opportunities as they are provided. This should improve a person's life chances. It should be noted that responsibility for skills training undertaken by FÁS currently resides with the Department of Education and Skills. The future development of the training and skills services of FÁS is a matter for the Minister for Education and Skills.

With regard to the timeline for the development of the National Employment and Entitlements Service, I am determined that this will be completed in the most expeditious manner possible and my officials are already actively engaged in a programme of work towards this end.

The administration of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme has already been transferred to the Department of Social Protection with the secondment of the Community Welfare Service from the Health Service Executive at the beginning of this year. The intention is to have the staff fully transferred into the Department by the end of September this year. This will enable us to integrate the payment of all benefits into one organisation simplifying customer processes.

Planning for the transfer and integration of the Employment Services and Community Employment Services of FÁS to the Department has already commenced and it is envisaged that the transfer of staff will commence later this year. Again this will enable us to simplify and integrate the delivery of employment support services to customers.

A key objective of the Government in relation to the new service is that it will offer users a high level of personalised employment support and prioritise the provision of more intensive support for those on the live register who are identified as being most at risk of long-term unemployment. This will be achieved through the use of proactive approaches and modern case management systems. A number of pilot projects have already commenced in relation to the development of case management, the identification of those who are most at risk of falling into long-term unemployment, and the provision of appropriately tailored responses to their needs. These pilot projects will be completed and evaluated in the coming months after which approaches will be developed for their rollout nationwide as part of the National Employment and Entitlements Service.