Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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379. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number young persons under 25 years of age that commenced a JobBridge placement in 2015 and for the period the scheme was in operation in 2016, in tabular form. [18070/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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JobBridge was introduced in July 2011 in response to the sharp and dramatic increase in unemployment. A robust external evaluation of the scheme conducted by Indecon Economic Consultants in 2016 recommended that it should be replaced and JobBridge was closed to new applications from 27th October 2016. Participants who started before that date have been facilitated to complete the full duration of their placement.

In contrast to popular perception, the Indecon evaluation found that that less than 30% of participants were under 25 years of age. A copy of the evaluation can be found at: www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/JobBridge-Evaluation.aspx.

Table 1 attached shows the number persons under 25 years of age that commenced a JobBridge placement in 2015 and 2016.

Table 1. – The number young persons under 25 years of age that commenced a JobBridge placement in 2015 and 2016.