Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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232. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if the contracts for JobPath were put out to tender; the awarding process; the criteria on which it was based; if there was any other applicants; the personal data of persons participating on JobPath that will be passed onto the recruitment agencies; if persons participating will be notified in advance of their data and details being handed over; and the reassurances that have been given to the government regarding data security. [32899/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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JobPath is an employment activation service that supports people who are long-term unemployed (over 12 months) and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid employment.

A public procurement process was conducted in accordance with EU and Irish procurement rules. A Prior Information Notice (PIN) and a request for tenders (RFT) were published on both the Government etenders website and on the website of the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). All tenders were submitted on a confidential basis. The department disclosed the names of the successful bidders in its contract award notice which was issued on 9 July 2015. Contracts were awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender based on the following criteria (i) cost, (ii) implementation of services, (iii) delivery of services and (iv) contract management and governance. The full request for tender is available on the department’s website.

The procurement process was overseen by a board that was chaired at Assistant Secretary level and included an independent external member who was formerly a commissioner of a regulatory body. The board was advised by the Attorney General’s Office and the Chief State Solicitor’s Office as well as the National Development Finance Agency. The outcome of the process and the recommendation to award contracts were reviewed with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the final decision to proceed to contract was made by Government.

Only jobseekers are referred to JobPath. The application form for a jobseeker’s payment advises the jobseeker that information may be exchanged with other agencies. Service providers such as JobPath companies and the Local Employment Service companies act as agents of the Department. In the same way that information is shared with the Local Employment Service companies for the purposes of activation, information is also shared with the JobPath companies for the same purpose.

Shared information may include such things as the person’s PPS number, name, contact details, gender, education, work experience and welfare claim details. The purpose of sharing this information is to assist in the development of a tailored personal progression plan for the individual jobseeker in order to support them back into paid employment.

The JobPath companies may use jobseekers’ data only for the purposes of delivering employment services for the Department. Data is transmitted securely from the Department to the companies using secure Departmental approved transmission channels. Both companies store client personal data only in Ireland. No personally identifiable client information is stored outside Ireland. Both companies undertook independent audits of their data processes and procedures as part of their contractual obligations. They are registered with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and are subject to the provisions of data protection legislation.