Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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126. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of companies that have been banned from the JobBridge scheme. [4172/16]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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JobBridge, the National Internship Scheme, was introduced in July 2011 in response to the unprecedented collapse in the economy – particularly the sharp increase in unemployment.

The primary aim of the scheme is to give unemployed people the opportunity to secure work experience and prove their competence to prospective employers. To date, JobBridge has attracted the voluntary participation of over 45,300 interns and encouraged over 18,000 Host Organisations to offer them a wide range of work experience opportunities. There are currently almost 4,400 people on internships.

There are strict terms and conditions which host organisations must comply with in order to participate in the scheme. Failure to comply with these terms and conditions can result in imposition of sanctions against the organisation – typically suspension from participation in the scheme for an appropriate duration having regard to the nature of the breach.

To date a total of 45 organisations were suspended from participation for a variety of infringements. This represents a tiny fraction of the over 18,000 organisations who have participated in the scheme. There are no organisations currently suspended from participation in the JobBridge scheme.