Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

402. To ask the Minister for Social Protection further Parliamentary Questions Nos. 743 to 746, inclusive, of 16 September 2016, if the 60 minutes maximum travel time for JobPath participants is the totality of a round trip to attend at JobPath offices, or 60 minutes each way. [26945/16]

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

403. To ask the Minister for Social Protection further Parliamentary Questions Nos. 743 to 746, inclusive, of 16 September 2016, the number of on-site inspections of JobPath providers which have taken place since the scheme was established; the nature of the on-site inspection; and if the inspection is a one off or involves repeat visits by inspectors to a provider. [26947/16]

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

404. To ask the Minister for Social Protection further Parliamentary Questions Nos. 743 to 746, inclusive, of 16 September 2016, the safeguards which are in place to prevent private JobPath providers from using valuable data acquired in the course of delivering the scheme, for example, information on persons responsible for recruitment in a given organisation, particularly in view of the fact that one service provider (details supplied) is a private recruitment company with an interest in gaining and using this data in the delivery of its recruitment services to private entities. [26948/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 402 to 404, inclusive, together.

JobPath is an employment activation service which supports people who are long-term unemployed to secure and sustain full-time paid employment. Two companies, Turas Nua Limited and Seetec Limited, have been contracted to provide the service on behalf of my Department. The JobPath contracts provide that a person should not have to travel more than 60 minutes, by private or public transport, to a location which has a normal journey time of no more than one hour each way.

The JobPath providers are subject to regular on-site checks and inspections to ensure that JobPath is delivered in accordance with contractual obligations. To date, 15 on-site inspections have been carried out at provider locations around the country (8 at Turas Nua service delivery locations and 7 at Seetec service delivery locations). The inspections cover a variety of subjects such as service delivery, suitability and standard of accommodation, staffing, signage, Irish language compliance, complaints procedures and client feedback. Regular inspections will be conducted for the duration of the JobPath contract. Inspections may be notified or un-notified and may be general or focused on specific matters of interest.

Separately the Department has commissioned customers satisfaction research the results which will be available by the end of the year. This research will provide a, quantitative, evaluation of the standard of service delivery provided by the Jobpath providers.

The JobPath providers are registered with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and are subject to the provisions of data protection legislation. The providers are obliged to observe the principles of data protection, which requires that personal data is used solely for the purposes for which it is collected. Any breach or suspected breach of the data protection legislation will be a matter for the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.