Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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305. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons given penalties while attending the services of jobpath in Coolock since the service began to date, by month, in tabular form. [3203/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, JobPath is an employment activation service that supports people who are long-term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid employment. The service is delivered by two companies, Seetec and Turas Nua.

The first referrals from the Coolock Intreo Centre were made in February 2016, and to date almost 700 clients have engaged with the service. A total of 24 clients have had a penalty rate applied.

It should be noted that all decisions regarding the application of penalty rates are taken by officials of the Department only: who apply standard rules and processes, which include written and verbal warnings and an opportunity for the jobseeker to re-engage prior to the application of a reduced payment rate.

The following table shows the numbers of clients engaged with the service who had a penalty rate applied, by month.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.