Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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427. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reasons persons in receipt of farm assist are not considered eligible for inclusion in the JobBridge scheme. [45730/13]

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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453. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of young person's under 25 currently participating in the JobBridge programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45804/13]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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471. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a breakdown by county and in the case of Dublin by post-code of the number of persons who have participated in or are currently participating in the national JobBridge scheme per year since the scheme was introduced; the number of participants who participated or are currently participating on their JobBridge scheme with a school, hospital, Government, State or public body either wholly or partially funded by the State; the number of JobBridge internships that have been filled with local authorities; the number of interns in each of the above categories who were retained by the public institution or body upon completion of the internship; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45836/13]

Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour)
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479. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if there is any criteria in place regarding the time-limit a company with a JobBridge position can advertise it for, and if there is any criteria regarding the obligation for the said company to respond to applications or hold interviews for the position; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45892/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 427, 453, 471 and 479 together.

Farm Assist is not one of the qualifying payments for JobBridge. Individuals do not need to be available for work to be in receipt of Farm Assist. Jobbridge participants must be available to undertake at least thirty hours work per week.

As at 30^th October, 2013, 6,384 individuals aged under 25 years have voluntarily participated in JobBridge, of whom 4,745 have finished their internship and 1,637 are currently on JobBridge internships. This is in line with my commitment to giving youth unemployed the opportunity to gain new skills and experiences to bridge the gap to the rest of their working lives.

The following tables give the breakdown of JobBridge participants, and participants in the local authorities. 21% of all placements to-date have been in public sector bodies. This equates to 4,847 internships. Of the 4,847 placements in the public sector, 1,341 jobseekers are currently on the scheme and 3,506 jobseekers have finished their placements in the public sector.

The Indecon evaluation of JobBridge found that there is a higher rate of employment among participants who completed their internships in private sector organisations. However, encouragingly 41.2% of all participants who undertook their internship in a public sector organisation progressed into paid employment. The high rates of progression into employment among public sector interns also show that the experience that interns gain in public sector host organisations facilitates them in gaining employment.

Internships are advertised on the JobBridge website for eight weeks. The scheme is voluntary and the decision to interview or how to interview candidates is a matter for the host organisation.

Table 1 – Total JobBridge Participants 2011 (by County/Dublin Postcode)

Table 2 – Total JobBridge Participants 2012 (by County/Dublin Postcode)

Table 3 – Total JobBridge Participants 2013 to date (by County/Dublin Postcode)

Table 4 – Total Local Authority JobBridge Participants to Date