Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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34. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide details of the tendering process undertaken to award the JobPath contract; if this contract secures matched funding from the European Social Fund or through the Horizon 2020 fund; the way in which such contracts are assessed and awarded; the names of the companies that have submitted proposals from within the European Union; the reason Ireland's existing local employment services have not benefitted from the awarding of similar funding; the administrative cost that is levied on the management of the awarded contract; the way in which the funding breaks down, specifically in relation to targets and sector areas; the submissions for funding her Department has made under the widening participation in society element; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33030/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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JobPath is a new approach to resourcing the provision of employment services to people who are long-term unemployed or at high risk of becoming long-term unemployed. Two providers of employment services have been contracted under JobPath to work with jobseekers and to assist them to secure and sustain full-time paid employment or self-employment. A public procurement process, conducted in accordance with EU and Irish procurement rules, commenced on 28 June 2013 with the issue of a Prior Information Notice (PIN). A request for tenders (RFT) was then issued on 12 December 2013. The RFT and the PIN were issued on both the Government etenders website and on the website of the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). The closing date for receipt of tenders was 28 February 2014. All tenders received in response to the RFT were evaluated on the basis of the detailed criteria and according to the marking scheme set out in the RFT documentation which is available on the department’s website at . As part of its development of the JobPath approach the Department held a number of consultation and information events and documentation from these events is also available on the Department’s website.

Tenders submitted as part of this public procurement process were submitted, in accordance with procurement norms, on a confidential basis. The department disclosed the names of the successful bidders in its contract award notice which was issued on 9 July 2015 (the contracts having been concluded on 5 June 2015). Turas Nua Limited and Seetec Limited were selected following the completion of the public procurement process.

JobPath is not singled out for funding from the European Union Social Funding/Horizon 2014-2020 fund and neither is the Local Employment Service (LES). There are no plans at present to request EU funding in respect of either JobPath or the LES.

The services to be provided under JobPath are in addition to, not a substitute for, the services provided directly by the department and those currently delivered by companies contracted for the provision of the LES.

JobPath is being delivered through a payment by results model and all initial costs are borne by the contractors. JobPath is so structured that the contractors cannot recover their costs or make a profit unless and until they get jobseekers into sustainable jobs, of at least thirty hours per week. Contractors will be paid via a combination of registration fees and job sustainment fees. A registration fee may be claimed only when a jobseeker has developed a personal progression plan and job sustainment fees will only be paid for each 13 week period of sustained employment, up to a maximum of 52 weeks (i.e. 4 payments).