Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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1204. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of complaints since commencement to date that have been made against the two companies tasked with delivering JobPath; the actions taken to investigate such complaints; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34302/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The overall reaction to JobPath has been very positive. To date 105,640 Jobseekers have been referred to the service, with 332 complaints received in total – 0.31 per cent.

Of these 267 have been responded to and are now closed, 65 are in progress.

Each JobPath provider has a comprehensive Complaints Procedure which is advertised in every location. The procedure contains levels of escalation whereby complaints are dealt with at the appropriate level of authority and ensuring that matters are fully addressed. In the event a customer has availed of this procedure but remains dissatisfied with the response to their complaint, they may request my Department to carry out a review. Customers may also refer a complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman for review once they have exhausted the available complaints process.

To date only two customers have requested my Department to review their complaint, both have been finalised, and no complaints related to the JobPath providers have been referred to the Ombudsman.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.