Written answers

Wednesday, 24 April 2013

Department of Social Protection

Employment Support Services

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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11. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of staff within her Department committed to employer engagement as part of the pathways to work strategy, the use of private contractors in the INTREO activation service; the number of INTREO offices opened across the State; the amount planned in the future; the amount of money spent on INTREO offices across the State to date in 2013; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18942/13]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the ‘Pathways to Work’ policy commits to the provision of more regular and on-going engagement and greater targeting of activation places and job opportunities for those who are unemployed. It also aims to increase engagement and incentivise employers to provide more jobs for people who are unemployed. The unit includes staff dealing with JobBridge, the European Job Mobility Portal (EURES), and the National Contact Centre, which hosts the Jobs Ireland website, as well as staff providing policy and coordination support to employer engagement across the country. There are over 35 staff working in the Employer Engagement Unit. The unit includes staff dealing with JobBridge, the European Job Mobility Portal (EURES), and the National Contact Centre, which hosts the Jobs Ireland website, as well as staff providing policy and coordination support to employer engagement across the country. There are over 35 staff working in the Employer Engagement Unit. In addition there are approximately 400 staff in the Department's regional divisions who work on employment services with both employers and jobseekers. As part of this structure there are 13 dedicated officers at senior management level leading the engagement process with employers at a regional level.

Turning to the issue of contracting, as part of its employment service provision, the Department already contracts with other providers for the delivery of both the Local Employment Service (LES) and Job Clubs. Employment services, including career planning, engagement with employers and job search assistance, are provided under contract by these organisations to clients who are activated by the Department. The Department funds this contracted provision to the value of approximately €25m per annum and these organisations employ approximately 390 staff, who are engaged in the provision of these services.

The Department is at present considering how it might supplement its existing delivery capacity through the further expansion of contracting. The Department has engaged external services in a variety of areas such as Local Employment Services and Job Clubs. The Department retained the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion (CESI) in November 2012 to provide expert advice with regard to the potential for, and the design of, a contracting model based on a risk sharing payment structure. The Department is currently considering the CESI report and will in due course finalise its own position. It is important to note that, although the term ‘private contracting’ is used in some quarters to indicate service provision by organisations outside of the direct state sector, experience in other countries indicates that the voluntary and not-for-profit sectors feature strongly in the supply-chain.

As set out in Pathways to Work, the introduction of the new Intreo service is a multi-annual project. The first ten Intreo offices went live in 2012. These are Sligo, Arklow, Tallaght, Kings Inns, Ballymun, Buncrana, Coolock, Dundalk, Finglas and Killarney. A further 2 offices are now providing the full Intreo service in Newcastlewest and Blanchardstown. Preparations are underway in a further 8 offices and it is expected that a total of 43 offices will be delivering the Intreo service by the end of 2013. The remaining offices will be providing the integrated service by the end of 2014.

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