Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

138. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 190 and 195 of 20 October 2015, if she will clarify that, as the JobBridge intern is not an employee of the company, the intern is covered by the host's employer liability insurance; and if she or the relevant JobBridge authority has viewed the host's insurance policy to ensure its validity and that it provides specific cover for the intern, both on-site and off-site of the employer [42475/15]

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

The primary purpose of the JobBridge scheme is to provide worthwhile work experience opportunities for unemployed people. Under the terms of the scheme interns continue to receive their Jobseeker payment and are not employees of the Host Organisation.

The Terms and Conditions of the scheme explicitly require Host Organisations to confirm that they have Public/Employer Liability Insurance (and Motor Insurance, if applicable) that will cover any JobBridge participants. They must also be fully compliant with workplace Health and Safety and all other legal and sectoral requirements. These are standard statutory requirements and all host organisations must self-certify that these requirements are met before an application is allowed to proceed. In addition all host organisations are required to return a monthly report confirming that the internship is progressing as per the terms and conditions outlined in the Standard Agreement and signed by both parties.

The Department does not inspect records of host organisations prior to accepting applications as to do so would impose a significant overhead in terms of processing times and cost. However random on-site inspections are conducted to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the scheme and the undertakings of the Host Organisation. Over 11,800 monitoring visits have been made since the scheme’s inception - over 4,600 last year alone. There have been no reported instances of Public/Employer Liability insurance not being in place.