Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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302. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason long-term unemployed persons who are engaging at his request with a company (details supplied) and have not managed to obtain employment are precluded from taking part in the Tús - work placement initiative scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14591/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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My Department operates a range of employment support measures, including Tús and JobPath, to assist the unemployed to re-enter the labour market. Tús was introduced in 2011 to provide work opportunities in the community for those who are unemployed for more than a year. JobPath is a new approach to employment activation to support long-term unemployed people and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain full time employment.

In general, it is not possible for clients to participate in two activation schemes at the same time and my Department does not facilitate or encourage jobseekers to leave one scheme early in order to take up a place on another scheme. This approach is particularly relevant in the case of JobPath whereby contracted providers are paid on the basis of outcomes. It is important that the service providers have the opportunity and the time to help the jobseeker secure and sustain full-time employment.