Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 136: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) who started the JobBridge programme on 4 July will be allowed only six of the nine months internship entitlement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36478/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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When the JobBridge Scheme was launched on 1 July temporary measures were put in place to facilitate Work Placement Programme (WPP) participants, who were eligible, to convert their WPP placements into JobBridge internships. This became known as the WPP Conversion Process. The following two rules applied to this conversion process:

· If a participant was on a WPP for less than four months they could convert their post over to JobBridge for a total of six months;

· If a participant was on a WPP for more than four months they could convert their post over to JobBridge for a total of three months.

In the case referred to, as the person in question was on a WPP placement for less than four months at the time of their application to participate in JobBridge they are therefore entitled to be on the JobBridge Scheme for six months. They are not entitled to a nine month internship as they had already been on a WPP placement with the same organisation.