Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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833. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who have been referred to JobPath year on year since it was established; and the number of persons referred for a second, third, fourth, fifth time plus, in tabular form. [20071/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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All labour activation referrals, including JobPath, were suspended in March 2020 in accordance with public health guidelines. Engagement continued during this period by phone, email and other remote means, where possible. Referrals to contracted public employment services gradually recommenced from mid-June.  The pause in referrals to JobPath from March to June 2020 is reflected in the lower 2020 referral figures to date.

The most recent information readily available on the number referrals to JobPath by year is set out in Table 1 below.  

Table 1 - JobPath referrals by year

The most recent available figures show that 22,220 clients are currently in their second engagement having previously completed with the JobPath service. 3,012 have commenced a third engagement with the service.  It is important to recognise that these individuals are at least three years or more unemployed and as such are very distant from the labour market. When a customer has completed their engagement with JobPath they are referred back to the Department’s Intreo service where they will receive further assistance from a case officer in their journey towards employment. This can include being referred to education, training or employment supports. If a customer has not engaged with such supports within 4 to 6 months they will then be eligible for referral to the JobPath service again.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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834. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the amount paid to the JobPath providers since it was established, including a breakdown of referral fees and sustainment fees. [20072/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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From January 2016 to the end of June 2020 total invoices amounted to €243.2m, of which €94m was in respect of referral fees and €149.2m for sustainment fees.  When recoupments of €7.8m are taken into account, actual total expenditure amounts to €235.4m.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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835. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who have had employment sourced for them through JobPath; and the number of persons whose employment was sustained for 13, 26, 39 and 52 weeks, respectively. [20073/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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JobPath provides a case management based employment advice and counselling service to long term unemployed jobseekers.

To date, some 61,626 jobseekers have commenced employment during their engagement period with JobPath.  39,531 had sustained employment for 13 weeks, 31,523 for 26 weeks, 25,471 for 39 weeks and 20,881 for 52 weeks.

It should be noted that many clients who are currently engaged with JobPath are still in the first phase of the service. They have not yet had sufficient time with the service to have gained employment nor sustain that employment for up to 52 weeks.  The measure of performance will improve as more clients complete their engagement with the service and have a chance to reach 52 weeks in employment.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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836. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of times JobPath providers have reported jobseekers to her Department for non-engagement with the scheme since it was established. [20074/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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In the normal course of business the JobPath service providers will regularly submit non-engagement notifications to the Department. This is an administrative function which is not necessarily indicative of any particular outcome. In the majority of cases the client will be contacted and the appointment will be rescheduled. Some clients may have multiple non-engagements recorded without penalty.  

 In total, since the JobPath service commenced, 17,998 or 6.9%, of the 259,275  clients who had engaged with the JobPath service (up to the end of January 2020) have had, at some point during their engagement period, a penalty rate applied to their payment.  These figures are consistent with the overall level of penalty rates applied to jobseekers in activation. 

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.  

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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837. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of penalties that have been applied to jobseeker's rates for non-engagement with JobPath since it was established. [20075/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Penalty rates were introduced in 2011 as a means of encouraging jobseekers to engage with activation measures and to co-operate with efforts of the Department to assist them in securing employment.  The Department is committed, under Pathways to Work, to incentivise the take-up of activation opportunities, and this includes implementing sanctions for failure to engage where appropriate.

All jobseekers are required to engage with my Department’s activation service and this obligation applies irrespective of whether the service is provided by my Department’s own Case Officers, or those contracted through the Local Employment Service (LES), or by the JobPath providers.  However contracted providers cannot and do not apply penalty rates but are obliged to report the facts and circumstances of a case to a Deciding Officer of my Department, who on careful consideration, may apply a penalty rate, where appropriate. 

As of the end of January 2020, there were 59,964 clients engaged with JobPath of whom 430, or 0.7%, had a penalty rate applied to their claim.  This figure is consistent with the overall level of penalty rates applied to Jobseekers in activation. 

In total, since the JobPath service commenced, 17,998 or 6.9%, of the 259,275  clients who had engaged with the JobPath service (up to the end of January 2020) have had, at some point during their engagement period, a penalty rate applied to their payment.

Due to the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic, the application of penalty rates has been suspended since March 2020.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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838. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the oversight her Department has had on JobPath providers; and the number of inspections, both notified and unannounced, respectively, that have been carried out. [20076/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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There are a number of key features which enable my Department to monitor all aspects of the JobPath providers’ performance and ensure contract compliance.

Every participant is provided with a service guarantee - a baseline level of service covering frequency of engagement, personal progression planning, geographic accessibility and in-employment support.

As part of their contractual obligations, the provider is required to have a comprehensive Complaints Process and this is advertised in all JobPath provider office locations.  The process contains various levels of escalation, allowing complaints to be dealt with at a level appropriate to the concern.

Should a customer remain dissatisfied having exhausted the contractor's Complaint Process, they can request my Department to carry out a review.  In this way it can be established if the complaint has been fully dealt with, and in a fair and reasonable manner.  If the customer remains dissatisfied following a review, they have the option to refer the matter to the Office of the Ombudsman.

As at end of June 2020, a total of 111 inspections have been carried out at JobPath service delivery locations; 66 have been notified and 45 were un-notified.

The inspections monitor compliance with the service level agreement and the contract generally, including, for example, the suitability and standard of accommodation, staffing levels, Irish language compliance, customer service and customer feedback, checking the client’s Personal Progression Plan, Review Meetings compliance, the checking of Job Sustainment Fee Evidence Types and Exit Plans.  The inspections will be conducted for the duration of the JobPath contract.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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839. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her Department has had engagement with JobPath providers since the start of the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020. [20077/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My officials hold regular meetings with both JobPath contractors as part of the normal contract management process. Since the onset of the Covid-19 restrictions these meetings have taken place via conference calls.

Referrals to all activation services, including those provided by the JobPath providers, were suspended in March in accordance with public health guidelines.  My Department has continued to liaise with the JobPath providers throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and they have continued to engage with their existing clients by phone, email and other electronic means where possible.

In parallel with the Intreo service, our contracted public employment services, including JobPath and the Local Employment Services, resumed activation for new referrals in June.  My officials were in contact with the various contracted employment services as appropriate to ensure they were aware of and implementing the appropriate guidelines for resuming their services.

 It is vital to continue to engage with the long term unemployed and other cohorts to ensure they do not become further distant from the labour market.  This will be undertaken with due regard to public health requirements.