Written answers

Thursday, 8 December 2016

Department of Social Protection

Departmental Staff Redeployment

Photo of Eamon ScanlonEamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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124. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason there was a need to tender out employment programmes to private sector companies (details supplied) when his Department integrated 2,000 trained and experienced FÁS staff; the reason these skilled staff could not continue to work with the unemployed at no extra cost to the State; the amount Jobpath has cost the State to date; the amount per year since its inception to 2016; the projected budget to be allocated to the JobPath programme in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39366/16]

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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On 1 January 2012, some 770 staff were redeployed from FÁS to my Department and of these about half were Employment Service Officers who provided and continue to provide a range of services to unemployed jobseekers throughout the country. However, even with these staff, additional capacity was still required to meaningfully engage with unemployed jobseekers and in particular with the long-term unemployed who require a significantly higher level of support.

The allocation of additional resources to the activation of long term unemployed jobseekers was the focus of an updated “Pathways to Work” policy statement published in July 2013. Having examined various resourcing and contracting options, and taking note of recommendations by the OECD among others, it was decided to procure additional capacity from providers with expertise and experience in the provision of employment supports or related services.

Two companies, Seetec and Turas Nua, have been contracted to deliver the service. These companies have established over 80 service locations around the country and employ nearly 600 staff. This additional capacity has increased my Department’s ability to provide supports to Jobseekers by augmenting and complementing the department’s own activation capacity as well as the capacity already provided by the Local Employment Service (LES) and Job Clubs.

The roll-out of JobPath commenced on a “soft-launch” basis in July 2015. To date, the additional JobPath capacity has enabled my Department to provide an intensive one-to-one employment support and advisory service to over 60,000 long-term unemployed jobseekers who would otherwise not have received such a service.

JobPath is a payment by results model and all initial costs are borne by the companies. The companies are paid registration fees and job sustainment fees. A registration fee may be claimed only when a jobseeker has developed a personal progression plan. Job sustainment fees are payable for each 13 week period of sustained employment, up to a maximum of 52 weeks (i.e. 4 payments). Payments to the JobPath companies amounted to €1.2m in 2015. It is estimated that payments will amount to c. €25m in 2016 and to €65m in 2017. The overall cost will be determined by the number of people who engage with the service and the number of jobseekers who successfully obtain and sustain employment.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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