Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

38. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the steps that have been taken by her Department to ensure that the JobBridge scheme is not abused by employers; if her Department has discovered situations in which employers have reduced the working hours of long-term staff and compensated by recruiting JobBridge personnel; if this situation is under constant review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42528/14]

Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

55. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she wil provide an update on JobBridge covering the number of people who have availed of JobBridge; the number of people who have moved from JobBridge to full-time employment; the number of people who have failed to get full-time employment from JobBridge; the approach of the Department where the scheme has been abused by employers; and if there are any JobBridge positions in the Civil Service. [42675/14]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 38 and 55 together.

JobBridge includes a range of control and monitoring measures. Host organisations must give undertakings to meet rigorous scheme criteria before participating, they must complete regular compliance returns during the course of any internship, internships cannot reduce paid positions, there are limits on the number of internships that any one organisation can host and cooling off periods are used to prevent successive use of internships. In addition Internships are monitored extensively and any allegations of abuse are investigated as a priority. To date, more than 15,000 host organisations have participated in the scheme, and out of this number only 45 have been excluded from participation for a range of reasons related to non-compliance with the scheme criteria. An independent evaluation of JobBridge found only minimal levels of displacement but the Department remains vigilant for any potential adverse impact of JobBridge upon the normal operation of the labour market.

As at 30th October, 2014, 34,636 individual internships had commenced since July, 2011, and 28,192 internships had finished. An independent evaluation of JobBridge found that 61% of former interns had moved into employment 5 months or more after the completion of their internship. This indicates that c 17,000 of the c 28,000 interns who have completed their internship moved into employment. I attach a table giving the number of JobBridge internships in the Civil Service.

Table 1. – Civil Service Internships

As at 15th October 2014