Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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137. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the criteria used by her officials to determine the PEX, probability of exit, category for jobseekers; if the criteria is solely based on the details in the JCP-B form used by her Department; or if additional criteria such as interviews with jobseekers is used to determine the PEX score; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31981/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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My Department uses a customer profiling model, developed in conjunction with the ESRI, to estimate, at the time a jobseeker claim is made, a person’s likelihood of exiting the Live Register to employment within 12 months. This profiling model uses a range of characteristics and weightings applied to them. The characteristics include age, gender, marital status, education level, unemployment history, literacy and numeracy, perception of health, motivation, access to transport. Use of the model was rolled out to the Department’s offices in 2012 and 2013.

The data which makes up the characteristics is captured from a combination of information provided by the client to the Department (on UP1 – claim application form) and from a profiling questionnaire. Utilising this range of characteristics, a score or value known as a PEX (Probability of Exit) is calculated using total information from both data sources. Using the model allows the Department to engage with unemployed customers in a more focused way, targeting those who need most employment supports as early as possible. The potential benefits from this approach include reduction in the length of time a person is unemployed, improving the possibility of obtaining sustainable employment and not returning to unemployment in the future and preventing long-term unemployment, thus avoiding the social, financial, health and other associated impacts.