Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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73. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if he has satisfied himself with the operation of JobPath; and if he plans to wind down this scheme with unemployment continuing to fall. [2757/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Ireland’s Public Employment Service (PES) is managed by the Department of Social Protection (DSP) and delivered directly by its own Intreo service as well as by contracted private companies, such as JobPath, Local Employment Service (LES) and Job Club providers. With JobPath the department has procured additional resources to enable it to provide a high quality case managed employment support service to people who are long term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed.

The JobPath service was designed to augment and complement the Department’s existing employment service capacity, including that provide by LES. The additional capacity provided through the JobPath service has allowed the department to provide the type and intensity of services required by Jobseekers, particularly those most distant from the labour market.

Prior to the introduction of Intreo and JobPath the Department had a case officer to live register ratio of approximately 1,500:1 compared to international benchmarks of less than 200:1. Today with the reduction in the unemployment rate and the increase in capacity, both internally through Intreo and externally through JobPath, the ratio is circa 230:1 and is trending downwards. Nevertheless with a ratio of 230:1 as compared with international norms of less than 200:1 JobPath continues to play a key role in the delivery of the services required by Jobseekers and is likely to do so for the next few years.

The initial data on the impact of the service is encouraging, showing high satisfaction levels among clients of the service, and that people who engage with the service are more likely to secure employment than those who do not. The results of an independent customer satisfaction survey recently undertaken (which forms part of the report) indicates that jobseekers feel that they are receiving a good service, and that JobPath has improved their chances of securing employment.

The department continues to monitor the delivery of the service and will publish performance data on a quarterly basis this year.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.