Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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459. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) must remain on JobPath despite being accepted onto a community employment scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22644/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Community Employment (CE) is a labour market activation programme which helps long-term unemployed people (those 12-months or more in receipt of a jobseeker’s payment) and other disadvantaged groups to re-enter the active workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to work routine. It is designed to be a temporary fixed-term activation intervention. The programme assists participants to enhance and develop both their technical and personal skills which can then be used in the workplace.

JobPath is a new approach to employment activation that supports people who are long-term unemployed and those most distant from the labour market to secure and sustain full-time paid employment. Participants on JobPath receive intensive individual support to help them tackle barriers to employment and to assist them in finding jobs. Each person is assigned to a personal adviser who assesses a person’s skills, experience, challenges and work goals. The personal adviser works with the jobseeker to agree a personal progression plan that includes a schedule of activities, actions and job focused targets. Participants are also provided with a range of training and development supports including online modules, career advice, CV preparation and interview skills. They spend a year on JobPath and if they are placed into a job they will continue to receive support for at least three months and up to twelve months while in employment.

I understand that the person concerned is aged 61 years and has already completed 6 years on a Community Employment (CE) scheme. Under current CE rules, a person over 55 years of age is limited to a maximum period of 6 years on the scheme. The person concerned is currently not eligible to participate on a CE scheme.

The person concerned was referred to JobPath on 21 June 2016. He attended a meeting with his personal adviser and agreed a personal progression plan on 30 June 2016. He will reach the age of 62 later this year. When a jobseeker is selected for any activation programme and reaches 62 years of age while on the programme they are expected to complete the programme.

A CE pilot initiative called the Service Support Stream was introduced in December 2015 to enable those aged 62 and over to extend their participation on CE beyond the standard maximum participation limits provided the eligibility conditions are met. Participants aged 62 and over, are allowed to participate on CE on a continuous basis up to the state pension age, subject to satisfactory performance on the scheme and to annual approval by the department. The total number of places allocated for these participants within each individual CE scheme is limited to 7% of each scheme’s overall budgeted places. The limitation on such places per scheme is in place to maintain the overall throughput on the programme. The participation limit is set to allow for the highest utilisation of places amongst qualifying persons and aims to ensure the benefit of these schemes are available to the widest possible number of jobseekers.

The person concerned may be considered for the CE Service Support Stream initiative after he has completed 52 weeks on JobPath and provided he is still in receipt of a CE-qualifying social welfare payment for the requisite period of time. A CE placement will also be dependent on there being such a place available on the CE scheme with regard to the 7% per scheme limit on such places.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.