John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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553. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of an increase in funding required by the local employment service to facilitate a referral increase of 5%. [13847/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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My Department has contracted for the provision of Local Employment Service (LES) in 26 locations with 22 different contractors via a network of offices and outreach clinics.

Funding for the provision of the LES is not based on referral numbers, rather it is based on the ratio of clients per Mediator and the number of one to one meetings they are required to offer to each client. This ratio has been revised in recent contracts and currently stands at 120 clients per Mediator. This approach is in line with best practice and OECD benchmarks, which indicate that smaller caseloads are the key to the provision of this type of intensive support and assistance for jobseekers, particularly the long-term unemployed.

Total funding for the LES has been maintained at €20m annually since 2013.