Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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69. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the evaluation of service delivery undertaken in respect of the rolled-out JobPath programme contract; the outcomes that are recorded and reported per person, by county and for each quarter since the contract commenced; if the evaluation of outcomes for suitability to the person are audited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8449/17]

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 service was rolled out on a phased basis over the period mid-2015 to July 2016, as a result the first groups of participants have only recently completed their engagement period with the service. It is important to note, that under the service jobseekers have access to a personal adviser (PA) who works with them over two phases. The first phase, of 12 months duration, the PA provides practical assistance in searching, preparing for, securing and sustaining employment. The second phase starts if the jobseeker is successful in finding work. During this phase the PA continues to work with the jobseeker for a further period of at least three months, and up to 12 months. It will take time therefore to accumulate a sufficient number of clients (who have completed their engagement period) for complete and robust outcomes data to be available.

However from 2017, the Department will publish a report on the performance of the service on a quarterly basis, with the first such report having just been published recently (17th of January).

The initial data on the impact of the service is encouraging.

- Employment outcome data shows that compared to people who did not take part in the service, people who availed of the service were 23% more likely to have started a job (as of October 2016). The difference appears to be more marked for very long-term unemployed people, with those out of work for more than three years some 44% more likely to have found a job if they engaged with the service.

- The results from the first independently conducted customer satisfaction survey indicates that jobseekers feel that they are receiving a good service under JobPath (76 – 81% satisfaction vs 5 – 8% dissatisfaction), that the staff of the service make them feel valued (90%+) and they have a good relationship with their personal adviser (90%+). They also feel that the service has improved their chances of getting a job (68% - 77%);

Given that only a small number of people have completed their full engagement period with the service these results can only be treated as indicative, nevertheless they are encouraging.

As the number of people who have completed their engagement period with the service increases the department will be in a position to provide greater granularity in the reports to be published each quarter this year.

The first report (with results together with a copy of the independent customer satisfaction survey findings for both companies) is available on the department’s website at –

In relation to ensuring that the outcomes are suitable to the person, the Department was careful in designing the service to ensure that payments to contractors are conditional on people not just finding a job, but finding sustainable employment. The companies are, for example, paid for each 13 week period of sustained employment of at least 30 hours per week. The suitability of employment is therefore a key factor in ensuring that jobs are sustainable. If people are placed into unsuitable jobs they are less likely to remain in employment and as a consequence the provider’s fees will be reduced. In addition the department has built in a number of controls related to the service, for example should one of the companies fall below the standards expected by the department in terms of performance, customer satisfaction or quality of service delivery the department can retain fees due to the companies. The department conducts audits and inspections and monitors customer satisfaction and performance of the companies on an ongoing basis.