Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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4. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the steps she will take to ensure that any company supported by her Department, or other State agency under her influence, that creates jobs in the coming period does not use schemes such as JobPath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33150/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The JobPath scheme falls under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, Leo Varadkar TD. The conditions of the various Government supports under JobPath are therefore a matter for the Department of Social Protection.

Conditions attached to the grants made by my Department’s agencies do not preclude participation in JobPath; agency client companies are therefore open to accessing DSP data on persons on the Live Register who may be suitably qualified for job opportunities within their companies.

Under Pathways to Work 2013, which is led by DSP, a Protocol on co-operation between the Department of Social Protection (DSP), my Department and the enterprise agencies was agreed. This includes IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland (EI), the Local Enterprise Offices (or LEOs) and Údarás na Gaeltachta. The aim of the Protocol is to maximise the recruitment of suitably skilled personnel from the Live Register by the enterprise agencies client companies.

IDA Ireland works with DSP, EI and other agencies to help provide job opportunities for unemployed people in IDA client companies. Areas of cooperation include participation in jobs fairs, sharing information on job announcements and Skillnets initiatives in areas like med tech, bio pharma and engineering.

Co-operation between employers and the education and training system is crucial in developing effective responses to skills needs. This co-operation is being strengthened through the new Regional Skills Fora to connect employers, enterprise development agencies and education and training providers.

My Department’s agencies do not collate data on the number of persons taken on by client companies under JobPath – these statistics are collated by DSP.

I would therefore suggest that the Deputy make contact with DSP for any further detailed information on the JobPath scheme.