Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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177. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form, the exact number of persons who signed up for the JobBridge scheme in County Longford; the exact number of persons who received employment from these internships in County Longford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47955/13]

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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233. To ask the Minister for Social Protection when the decision to extend the duration permitted under JobBridge to 18 months will be implemented; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48386/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 177 and 233 together.

Since JobBridge came into operation on 1^st July, 2011, 169 individuals have participated on JobBridge in County Longford. 37 individuals are currently on internships. 132 individuals have finished their internship. While there is no specific information on these cases, data from the recent Indecon Evaluation Report indicate that overall 61% have progressed into paid employment. In this regard, the progression outcomes into employment from JobBridge are among the very best in Europe.

An individual may avail of a maximum of 3 JobBridge internships, however, the total cumulative time spent on the scheme cannot exceed 18 months (78 weeks). An intern will not be permitted to do more than one internship with the same company. The maximum duration of an individual internship is 9 months (39 weeks). This extension came into effect on 7^th November and full details are available on the JobBridge website .

The Indecon Report provides a number of key recommendations which are targeted at maximising progression outcomes for interns and ensuring value for money for the exchequer.

The Department have already taken a number of key actions in response to these recommendations including increasing the number of internships that a jobseeker may undertake, improving the Department’s quality and control checks and providing even more support to interns with a significant increase in monitoring and site visits being conducted by Department officials. Codes of practice have also been developed to improve the quality of placements and key pilots have been implemented in the arts and crafts sectors.

The Department have also commenced a process to redevelop the JobBridge website’s design, application and content thereby improving the client experience. I will continue to review all aspects of the scheme and changes to improve the quality of the scheme will continue to be implemented where appropriate.