Written answers

Tuesday, 11 April 2017

Department of Social Protection

JobPath Implementation

Photo of Bríd SmithBríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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78. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the oversight his Department has on the operations of the private companies contracted to operate the JobPath initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17843/17]

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The JobPath service which is funded by the Department is delivered by two service providers, Turas Nua Ltd and Seetec Business Technology Company Ltd.

The JobPath model has a number of key features which enables my Department to monitor all aspects of the service provider’s performance and ensure contract compliance.

Every participant is provided with a service guarantee - a baseline level of service covering frequency of engagement, personal progression planning, geographic accessibility and in-employment support. This is to prevent so called ‘parking’ of clients.

Providers are obliged to accept all clients referred by the Department and have no role in the selection of clients which prevents ‘cream-skimming’ of the employable jobseekers in preference to jobseekers that are more distant from the labour market. The period of engagement with the service for any individual jobseeker is 52 weeks. Participation is mandatory for those who are referred.

Fees are paid on the basis of performance. With the exception of the initial registration fee, payments are made only when a client has achieved sustained employment.

The service providers are subject to regular audits and inspections. In addition my Department will commission regular Customer Satisfaction Surveys to ensure that services are being delivered satisfactorily.

The first JobPath Performance report, which includes the results of the first Customer Satisfaction Survey, was published on 17 January this year and is available on the department’s website at –

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It is important to note that failure to achieve satisfactory customer ratings and/or failure to achieve employment placement targets may result in reductions of fees paid via the use of retention fees – in effect these are penalties that reduce fees paid by up to 15%. Where Contractors do not address the issue that gives rise to use of retention fees to the satisfaction of the Department, the Department has the right to terminate the contract.

The Department will publish the next Performance Report in the coming weeks.

Regular on-site checks and inspections are carried out to ensure that JobPath is delivered in accordance with the contract. To date, 29 on-site inspections have been carried out at provider service delivery locations around the country, 14 to Turas Nua and 15 to Seetec locations.

The inspections monitor compliance with the service level agreement and the contract generally, including the suitability and standard of accommodation, staffing levels, Irish language compliance, customer service and customer feedback. Inspections may be notified or un-notified and will be conducted for the duration of the JobPath contract. The JobPath providers are registered with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and are subject to the provisions of data protection legislation. The providers are obliged to observe the principles of data protection, which requires that personal data is used solely for the purposes for which it is collected. Any breaches or suspected breach of the data protection legislation, in addition to being investigated by my Department, may also be referred to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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