Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Question 302: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the impact the pathways to work project will have on social welfare application waiting lists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14237/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Pathways to Work policy which was launched by the Government on the 23rd of February incorporates the establishment of the new National Employment and Entitlements Service and commits to a new approach to the provision of services for unemployed people. The objective is to reduce the level of long term unemployment and to ensure those who are unemployed will be provided with appropriate advice, support, education and training to take advantage of new job opportunities as the economy recovers.

Pathways to Work has five strands:

· more regular and on-going engagement with people who are unemployed

· greater targeting of activation places and opportunities

· incentivising the take-up of opportunities

· incentivising employers to provide more jobs for people who are unemployed, and

· reforming institutions to deliver better services to people who are unemployed.

The roll-out of the new service will be very challenging for the Department and will require the allocation of additional internal staff and external resources to employment services/activation work. However the resources of the Department have recently been augmented by the transfer of nearly 1,700 staff from the CWS and FÁS. Over the medium term I expect that efficiencies will be realised as these staff and services are integrated and that these efficiencies will facilitate improved service delivery.

Waiting lists and processing times for social welfare payments vary across schemes and generally relate to the qualification criteria for the scheme involved. This situation is kept under constant review as part of my department's commitment to delivering the best possible service to its customers. In order to meet the dual challenges of increased claim volumes and the demand for shorter processing times, the Department has embarked on a major programme of process redesign and modernisation involving the development and roll-out of new computer systems and streamlined work practices.