Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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Question 273: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the targets or benchmarks agreed at the outset of the JobBridge scheme in order to assess its ultimate success; if there have been any interim reports against these targets; the measures being taken to ensure that participating firms are not using the scheme to replace paid workers; and the procedures that will be followed at the conclusion of the scheme for evaluating its success. [30170/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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JobBridge, the national internship scheme, was launched on 29 June 2011 and came into operation on 1 July 2011. It will provide up to 5,000 unemployed people at any one time with an internship opportunity of 6 or 9 months in an organisation in the private, public or community and voluntary sectors.

It is our hope that as many as possible eligible unemployed people on the Live Register participate in JobBridge over the course of the scheme's lifetime.

As the scheme has been running for only 3 months and the minimum internship term is 6 months, no review of the impact of JobBridge has yet taken place. A full evaluation of the scheme will be undertaken. As part of this review it is envisaged that progression rates of participants into employment will be a key performance indicator.

The JobBridge scheme contains a number of measures to minimise displacement including the following:

- all Host Organisations must declare in their application that they are not displacing an employee and that they have no vacancy in the specific area;

- the JobBridge team check all applications against recent vacancies advertised on the FÁS Jobs Ireland website;

- if the JobBridge team suspects that displacement may be an issue, they can liaise with regional FÁS management to find out more information on the company.

In order for all applications from host organisations to be approved they must also meet a number of criteria so as to ensure that the potential internships are of sufficient quality.

These include the following:

- That the internship does not allow the intern to work unsupervised;

- That the intern accrues significant experience throughout the entire internship.

In order for an internship to commence a Standard Internship Agreement must be signed by both the intern and the host organisation. This Agreement clearly stipulates the terms of the internship and states the specific learning outcomes the intern will receive over the course of their internship.

To ensure compliance with the scheme, my Department and the JobBridge team are monitoring internships to ensure that both host organisations and interns are abiding by the spirit and the rules of the scheme.

This involves the monitoring of monthly compliance reports which the host organisation uses to verify that the internship is proceeding as set out in the Standard Internship Agreement. In addition, contact with the host organisations and interns including random site visits will begin shortly as part of this process.

The scheme also has a 'whistle blowing' feature, where any individual who suspects that an internship may be in breach of the scheme's criteria, including in cases of suspected displacement or poor quality, may contact the National Call Centre. All such claims will be investigated. Where it is proven that displacement has occurred in a Host Organisation their internship opportunities will be removed and they will not be allowed to participate in JobBridge.