Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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557. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) in County Donegal has been advised of their ineligibility for participation in an upcoming community employment scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17390/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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All Jobseekers on the live register must be capable of, available for, and actively seeking full time employment, they are also required to engage with the Department’s activation services whether the service is provided internally by an Intreo case officer or externally by one of the contracted providers e.g. JobPath providers and Local Employment Service providers. The JobPath service is one of a number of employment activation services provided for people who are long-term unemployed to help them secure and sustain full-time paid employment. Customers who have not been in full-time employment but are returning to a Jobseeker’s payment from other departmental employment schemes, for example Tús are also eligible for selection for JobPath.

Where a jobseeker on the date of their referral to JobPath, has received an offer of a placement on a Community Employment (CE) Scheme with a start date within 4 weeks of their date of referral, they will be facilitated to take up the placement if they wish. The four week time frame may be extended if there is a delay due to Garda vetting requirements.

As the person in question was selected for JobPath on the 17 March 2018 and his start date for a CE scheme was not within 4 weeks of the start date he is must participate on the JobPath programme and as such is currently ineligible to take up his placement on a CE scheme.

I wish to take this opportunity to advise the Deputy that I have made changes to the eligibility criteria for CE/Tús and JobPath participants from 1 June 2018, whereby a person can take up an opportunity under CE/Tús and participate on JobPath at the same time.