Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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61. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans for JobPath; if the companies contracts will be renewed for 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50368/19]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The JobPath employment service commenced in 2015 and, under the terms of the contracts signed with the providers, was to run for at least six years comprising two consecutive phases: phase one entailed four years of client referrals, while phase two entailed a ‘run off’ period during which time no additional clients were to be referred.  The contract includes an option to extend the term of referrals for a period no greater than two years.

My Department has agreed with the JobPath providers to extend phase one of the contracts for a further twelve months until the end of 2020, which will enable referrals to continue throughout next year.  This is not a renewal of the JobPath contracts, but the execution of the extension clauses of the existing contracts. 

In September, my Department published a Request for Tender for consultancy services, to provide advice and support regarding the future of the State’s public employment service and assist with the procurement of contracted public employment services in Ireland, covering the period 2021-2025.  The winning tenderer is due to commence work in early December and and it is anticipated that they will provide the Department with a final report in Q2 2020.