Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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337. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons employed through the JobBridge scheme in the area of water meter installation; and if she will provide a breakdown of numbers, contract duration and employer's name on a county basis. [2389/14]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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357. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a breakdown of participants in the JobBridge scheme for the years 2012 and 2013 based on the eligibility criteria for the scheme detailing the number of participants who were in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance, jobseeker’s benefit, one parent family payment, disability allowance and those signing for social insurance contribution credits. [2585/14]

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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373. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons that have taken part in the JobBridge scheme in Fingal, South Dublin, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown and Dublin City Council areas. [2766/14]

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Independent)
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385. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on whether it is appropriate for the JobBridge scheme to be used for the recruitment of a worker where the minimum requirement for candidates is a PhD in synthetic chemistry as in the case of (details supplied). [2886/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 337, 357, 373 and 385 together.

As at 17 January, 2014, one JobBridge intern has commenced an internship in the water meter installation sector, for nine months, based in County Clare.

JobBridge statistics are not available broken down by payment type.

I set out below a table giving a breakdown of JobBridge internships commenced in Dublin since the scheme came into operation. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of Jobbridge participants by each of the Local Authority areas in the Dublin region.

JobBridge is giving opportunities to jobseekers across the spectrum of qualifications. In the independent evaluation of JobBridge, it was found that 35.9% of interns hold qualifications below primary degree level, with 22.4% of interns having a post-graduate qualification. Given those high numbers of interns holding graduate and post-graduate qualifications, it is obviously necessary that JobBridge is in a position to offer them an internship that meets their needs.

It is worthy of note that many professions and occupations offered internships to graduates prior to the commencement of Jobbridge. One of the advantages of Jobbridge is that it allows unemployed people including unemployed graduates access to these internships while retaining their social welfare payment.

Table 1. Total JobBridge Internships in Dublin