Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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77. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the average cost of activating a person who is unemployed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46087/15]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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For each client the Department of Social Protection uses a different combination of the key elements of the activation model, according to the age (under or over 25), probability of exiting the live register (low, medium or high PEX score), length of unemployment (long term or short term).

The first intervention occurs immediately after the client is selected for activation. This takes the form of a Group Engagement session where a number of clients are called to a meeting with DSP staff. Following this the client is called for a one to one discussion with a case officer and a personal progression plan (PPP) is agreed. After the one to one discussion the client progresses according to the PPP. The process will also include a series of activation review meetings for as long as the person remains wholly unemployed. Following up on the PPP may include participation in a training/education course or in an employment or work experience programme.

There are many permutations in terms of routes through the activation process, and a meaningful 'average cost' of activating a person who is unemployed cannot therefore be estimated.

Some indicative costs are however available for the Department of Social Protection activation programmes. The cost for International Work Experience and training is €2531.73 per person. The average payment per week for a JobBridge participant during 2015 is €233.33. This equates to €9,100 for a 9 month internship (39 weeks) or €6,067 for a 6 month internship (26 weeks). The average weekly cost is €250.70 for Gateway, €264.36 for the Rural Social Scheme is and €253.09 for Tús. The average cost for the Momentum 2 programme is expected to be €3,447 per participant.

Costs per participant on training and education programmes are a matter for the Department of Education and Skills.