Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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151. To ask the Minister for Social Protection further to the circa 2,400 jobseekers who have had penalty rates applied to their payments for failure to accept offers of education, training or employment, if any of these penalties related to the JobBridge scheme; if not, if she will provide a break down of specific training schemes and education schemes which featured in this list. [51321/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Legislation provides that penalty rate payments may be imposed by a Deciding Officer where jobseekers fail, without good cause, to comply with activation measures.

Activation measures include the requirement to attend group or individual meetings, and/or avail of suitable education, training or development opportunities, or specified employment programmes, which are considered appropriate to a person’s circumstances.

The specific employment programmes & schemes, and courses of education, training & development, which have been prescribed for the purposes of the legislation are as follows:

- Community Employment

- A course of training or development provided by or on behalf of SOLAS

- A course of education, training or development provided by or on behalf of an Education & Training Board (ETB)

- Such other course of education, training or development as may be approved by or on behalf of the Minister from time to time

Currently, the JobBridge National Internship Scheme is not prescribed for the purposes of the legislation, therefore, penalty rates do not apply for failure to avail of this scheme.