Written answers

Tuesday, 11 April 2017

Department of Social Protection

Local Employment Service

Photo of John BradyJohn Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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355. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if it is his Department's policy to replace local employment service mediators; if so, his plans to replace them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17627/17]

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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In 2016 LES providers were asked to increase the frequency with which they engage with jobseekers to enhance the quality of the services they provide. To facilitate this more intensive engagement, caseloads were reduced. The number of local employment service mediators also increased from (circa) 163 in 2015 to (circa) 170 in 2017 and there is no plan to replace them.

Ireland’s Public Employment Service (PES) is managed by my Department and delivered directly by its own Intreo service as well as by contracted private companies i.e. the JobPath companies, the Local Employment Service (LES) and Job Clubs.

The LES engages primarily with long-term unemployed jobseekers but may also engage with short-term unemployed jobseekers where a local need arises. Jobseekers are referred directly to the LES by Intreo offices. Jobseekers may also request services from the LES on a “walk-in” basis. Other groups, to whom the LES offer services, include people with a disability, lone parents, early school leavers, qualified adults, ex-offenders, members of the travelling community and refugees. Where these people initially present at an Intreo office they may be sent to the LES for activation services.

For 2017 my Department has contracted 22 private contractors for the provision of LES in 26 locations. The funding for LES has been maintained at €20m and there is no plan at this time to reduce expenditure.

Prior to the introduction of Intreo and JobPath my Department had a total of (circa) 300 case officers (including LES) working with over 460,000 people on the live register, i.e. a caseload of over 1,500 people : 1 Case Office against international benchmark of less than 200:1. My Department has increased the number of case officers to approx. 1,250, including i Intreo and JobPath services. With the reduction in the unemployment rate from a peak of 15% (Feb 2012) to 7.2% (Jan 2017) and the live register now at approx. 276,000 people, the average caseload today is around 230:1. My Department is seeking to maintain LES and JobPath caseload ratio of 100/125:1 which is in line with OECD caseload benchmarks.

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