Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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1517. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason, under the Data Protection Act, information from her Department was provided to Turas Nua as in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35718/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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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 providers i.e. companies delivering the Local Employment Service (LES) , Job Club and JobPath services.

These providers act as agents of the Department for the purpose of delivering these services and are subject to strict obligations imposed by the Department in terms of data protection. The companies are, for example, contractually required to register with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and are subject to the same provisions of data protection legislation as Departmental staff. The contracts in place are also governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Ireland and the courts of Ireland have exclusive jurisdiction over these contracts.

The Social Welfare (Consolidated) Act 2005, as amended, specifies that participation in activation meetings arranged by or on behalf of the Minister for Social Protection is mandatory for those in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance. Jobseekers are 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 contracted companies, such as Local Employment Service, JobPath or Job Club providers.

In addition all persons, including the customer in question, who are in receipt of a Jobseeker's payment must satisfy the conditions of being available for and genuinely seeking employment. The application form for a jobseeker's payment advises the jobseeker that information may be exchanged with other organisations such as JobPath service providers.

The purpose of sharing this information is to assist in the development of a tailored plan for the individual jobseeker in order to support them back in to paid employment. Jobseekers who engage with the JobPath service 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. A personal progression plan is put in place which sets out a schedule of activities; actions and job focused targets, taking into account a person’s individual circumstances.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.