Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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245. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if it is mandatory for a person selected by his Department for the JobPath scheme to engage with a company (details supplied) and to sign a contract with it when that person has not signed a record of mutual commitments with Intreo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22691/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Social Welfare (Consolidated) Act 2005, Part 3, Ch. 2, Sect. 141 specifies that participation in activation meetings arranged by or on behalf of the Minister for Social Protection is mandatory for those in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance.

All people in receipt of Jobseekers payment must satisfy the conditions of being available for and genuinely seeking employment. They are also required to engage with my Department’s activation service and this obligation applies irrespective of whether the service is provided by the Department’s own case officers or those advisors employed by the contracted JobPath companies.

Seetec are one of the two companies who have been contracted to provide the JobPath activation service to customers of my Department who are long term unemployed.

Participants on JobPath receive intensive individual support to help them address barriers to employment and to assist them in finding sustainable jobs. Each person is assigned a personal advisor who will assess a person’s individual skills, experience, qualifications and work goals. Every customer referred to JobPath is requested to agree and sign a personal progression plan (PPP). The PPP is an agreement containing a schedule of activities; actions and job focused targets, taking into account a person’s specific qualifications and employment preferences. The contents of the PPP may change during the person’s engagement with the service as they develop new skills or experience.

It is important to note that all decisions regarding a person’s welfare entitlements while on JobPath are taken only by Department officials and not by the JobPath providers. In addition the process for sanctioning clients who do not engage with the JobPath activation process is exactly the same as the process for clients who fail to engage with the Department’s other activation services provided by Intreo Centres, Local Employment Services and Job Clubs.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.