Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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155. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of long-term jobseeker's allowance broken down by social protection office (details supplied); the number of these that have been referred to Seetec in the past year; the number available in each area to go on the Tús scheme and the community employment scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31443/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Community Employment (CE) and Tús are labour market activation programmes which help 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. They are designed to be a temporary fixed-term activation intervention as a stepping stone back to employment. However, the work experience does not represent paid sustainable employment in the open labour market.

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.

The following table sets out the number of people on the Live Register as at end September for the locations in question. It also shows the number of people who were in receipt of a jobseeker’s allowance (JA) payment for more than one year and it also shows the number of people who have been referred to Seetec.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the deputy.