Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 210 to 212, inclusive,, 215 and 216 together.

JobPath is a payment by results model and all set-up and day-to-day operational costs are borne by the companies. The companies are paid on the basis of performance and with the exception of the initial registration fee; payments are made only when a client has achieved sustained employment. The overall cost of JobPath will be determined by the number of people who participate in the programme and the number who get sustainable jobs.

It is not intended to publish the individual payments to the JobPath companies as these are commercially sensitive and to do so would place the State at a disadvantage both in terms of the contracts currently in place and in any future procurement that may be undertaken.

The total of fees claimed by the JobPath providers in 2017 was €58.5m.

JobPath has been designed to support persons who are long term unemployed and at the end of December 2017 some 141,000 jobseekers have commenced engagement with the service. Of these 52% were unemployed for more than three years and a further 12% have been unemployed for more than two years.

In relation to the number of participants to find employment and the number to complete their engagement period with the service without finding employment, it is important to note that jobseekers may be supported through the service for up to 30 months. During this time they have access to a Personal Advisor (PA) who works with them over two phases. In the first phase, of 12 months duration, the PA provides practical assistance in searching, preparing for, securing and sustaining employment. The second phase starts if the jobseeker is successful in finding work and the PA continues to work with the jobseeker for a further period of at least three months, and up to 12 months. In addition to these two phases jobseekers may also undertake training while on JobPath and this may extend the period for up to a further 6 months.

It will therefore take time to accumulate a sufficient number of clients (who have completed their engagement period with the service) for complete and robust outcome data to be available.

The Department has published initial cohort reports on the performance of the service, the most recent of which was published on the 5th of January 2018 and is available on the department's website welfare.ie. at .

This initial report, which is based on the first four cohorts of jobseekers to be referred only, indicates that of these Jobseekers, to date 18% have entered full time employment, 4% entered part time employment and 3% became self-employed, giving a total employment outcome figure of 25%. In addition, the report noted that participants have a higher chance of securing and remaining in employment compared to non-participants with a similar duration of unemployment.

An initial analysis of the sectors in which participants found employment suggests that some of the most popular types of employment are within the construction, manufacturing, sales, clerical/administrative, food service, cleaning and customer service sectors.

Given the above, the department is undertaking an econometric review of this strand of its activation services, completion of the review is provisionally scheduled for the end of Q3, following which more detailed and robust statistics will be available.

At the end of December 2017, circa 93,000 clients were engaged with JobPath, of which 483 or 0.5% have a penalty rate applied to their claim. This figure is consistent with the overall level of penalty rates applied across all Job Seekers. In total since the JobPath service commenced, approximately 6,500 or 4.6% of the 141,000 clients who had engaged with the JobPath service (between July 2015 and December 2017) have had, at some point during their engagement period, a penalty rate applied to their payment.

It is important to note that JobPath providers do not apply or recommend the application of a penalty rate. They simply advise the Department if a jobseeker is failing to attend activation meetings. Officials in the Department then contact the Jobseeker and seek to arrange a meeting to discuss the matter directly with them. The application of penalty rates is entirely a matter for the Department and officials involved will take all relevant factors into account.

In the interests of natural justice, a jobseeker who fails to participate in the activation process, whether that is provided directly by the Intreo service or via any contracted service provider, is given both written and verbal warnings and an opportunity to comply before a reduced rate of payment is applied. Furthermore, Jobseekers can, through co-operation with the activation service of my Department, benefit from early re-instatement of the full rate of Jobseeker’s payment. Jobseekers can also appeal the decision to apply a penalty rate through the Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO).

The JobPath Agreements were signed with Turas Nua and Seetec on 5 June 2015. The service is being delivered in two contract areas which were based on the Department’s divisional structure. The contract areas are as follows:

- Seetec - West; Midlands North; North East; North West, Dublin Central; Dublin North; Dublin South.

- Turas Nua - Cork Central; South East; Mid-Leinster, Mid-West; South West; Midlands South.

The roll-out of the service commenced on 20 July 2015 on a “soft-launch” basis and completed in mid- 2016. All of the Department’s Offices are referring clients to the service.

The total number of service delivery locations is eighty-nine (89),comprising the following:

Full-Time	Part-Time	Outreach	Total
56	13	20	89

Service delivery locations/Number of Inspections:

TURAS NUA- Full-time Offices

Office	Year opened	Number of inspections
Bray	2015	1
Carlow	2015	1
Clonmel	2015	1
Cork	2015	1
Ennis	2015	1
Kilkenny	2015	1
Limerick	2015	1
Listowel	2015	1
Naas	2015	1
Newcastlewest	2015	1
Thurles	2015	1
Tralee	2015	1
Tullamore	2015	1
Waterford City	2015	1
Wexford	2015	1
Athy	2016	1
Dungarvan	2016	0
Enniscorthy	2016	0
Gorey	2016	1
Killarney	2016	1
Mallow	2016	1
Midleton	2016	1
Nenagh	2016	0
New Ross	2016	0
Portlaoise	2016	1
Roscrea	2016	1
Wicklow	2016	0
Total		22

TURAS NUA- Part-time Offices

Office	Year opened	Number of inspections
Arklow	2015	1
Cahirciveen	2015	1
Bandon	2016	0
Bantry	2016	0
Clonakilty	2016	0
Dingle	2016	1
Fermoy	2016	0
Kilrush	2016	0
Kinsale	2016	0
Macroom	2016	1
Skibbereen	2016	1
Thomastown	2016	0
Tipperary Town	2016	0
Total		5

Seetec- Full-time Offices

Office	Year opened	Number of inspections
Bishop Square	2015	1
Buncrana	2015	1
Cavan	2015	1
Castlebar	2015	1
Drogheda	2015	1
Dundalk	2015	1
Dungloe	2015	0
Finglas	2015	1
Galway	2015	1
Letterkenny	2015	1
Longford	2015	1
Mullingar	2015	1
Navan	2015	1
Swords	2015	1
Tallaght	2015	1
Amiens Street	2016	1
Athlone	2016	1
Balbriggan	2016	1
Blanchardstown	2016	1
Birr	2016	1
Carrick on Shannon	2016	1
Clondalkin	2016	0
Coolock	2016	1
Dun Laoghaire	2016	0
Edenderry	2016	1
Maynooth	2016	0
Monaghan	2016	1
Navan Road	2016	1
Sligo	2016	0
Total		24

Seetec- Outreach Offices

Office	Year opened	Number of inspections
Ballina	2015	0
Belmullet	2015	0
Clifden	2015	0
Loughrea	2015	0
Ballinasloe	2016	0
Ballyfermot	2016	0
Ballymun	2016	0
Ballyshannon	2016	0
Carrickmacross	2016	0
Castlerea	2016	0
Carraroe	2016	0
Donegal	2016	0
Dunfanaghy	2016	0
Kells	2016	0
Killybegs	2016	0
Manorhamilton	2016	0
Roscommon	2016	0
Trim	2016	0
Tuam	2016	0
Tubbercurry	2016	0
Total		0

A total of 51 Inspections have been carried out to-date. Inspections may be notified or un-notified.

I hope this clarifies the matters for the Deputy.