Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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163. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide full details and guidelines with regards to the JobBridge and Gateway schemes operated by her Department; the reasons for two different schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36912/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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JobBridge, the National Internship Scheme provides work experience placements for interns for a 6 or 9 month period.The aim of JobBridge is to assist in breaking the cycle where jobseekers are unable to get a job without experience, either as new entrants to the labour market after education or training or as unemployed people wishing to learn new skills. The initiative gives people a real opportunity to gain valuable experience to bridge the gap between study and the beginning of their working lives.

Interns receive an allowance of €50per week on top of their existing social welfare entitlement. This is payable for the period of the internship by the Department of Social Protection.

Participation on JobBridge is voluntary for both the Host organization and the Interns. There are a number of conditions that host organisations must satisfy in order to participate on the scheme. These conditions are designed to ensure that interns receive coaching/mentoring during the internship and that the internship does not displace paid employment.

Full details and operational guidelines are available at .

Gateway was announced in Budget 2013 and is a County and City Council work placement scheme designed to provide short-term working opportunities for unemployed people. The scheme is intended to assist the personal and social development of participants by providing short-term work opportunities with the objective of bridging the gap between unemployment and re-entering the workforce.

The work opportunities are intended to benefit the local area and are identified and provided by Local Authorities in both urban and rural areas. Gateway is managed by Local Authorities.

However, unemployed people who are eligible to participate in the scheme (the main criteria is that candidates must be more than 24 months unemployed) are selected at random and contacted by the Department of Social Protection

To further support the recruitment process, the Department has put arrangements in place for jobseekers meeting the scheme criteria to apply to the Department or councils for participation on Gateway and for Departmental case officers to nominate suitable candidates for recruitment. This accounts for 20% of the available placements and in certain parts of the country there is a strong participant demand to take up places on the scheme.

Full details and operational guidelines can be found at .