Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Since it commenced on 1 July, 2011, Jobbridge has made exceptional progress. At 18 April, 2013, 16,545 people had commenced internships, 5,947 individuals were on internships and 2,452 internship opportunities were advertised.

Jobbridge is limited to individuals who are in receipt of a Live claim (Jobseekers Allowance/Jobseekers Benefit/One Parent Family Payment/Disability Allowance) or are signing on for credits for at least 3 of the last 6 months (78 Days). Carer’s Allowance is not an eligible payment. Time spent in receipt of this payment does not, of itself, contribute to eligibility for a Jobbridge internship. It continues to be essential to strike a balance between our commitments to combat unemployment through the up-skilling opportunities provided by quality internship placements that offer real workplace experience, on the one hand, and the potential to destabilise the normal functioning of the labour market and a consequent reduction of opportunities for permanent employment, on the other.

JobBridge has been launched in this targeted way to allocate scarce exchequer resources to make maximum impact for long term unemployment while ensuring that it does not replace or displace the normal operation of the labour market. As the Deputy will be aware, an independent evaluation of the Scheme is currently being finalised by Indecon International Economic Consultants. The final report will be published in the coming weeks. It is at this stage that further consideration will be given to amending the terms and conditions of the Scheme.