Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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529. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when the external consultants review of all current contracted public employment services will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25211/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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In December 2019, my Department engaged with external consultants in order to undertake a review of all current contracted Public Employment Services (PES), including JobPath. The consultants' research, recently completed, will help inform the Government's approach on the future structure of all contracted PES. I expect that the final report will be formally submitted to me shortly.

The review process was interrupted by Covid-19 and the associated restrictions. The review was commissioned with a review to ensuring that all our contracted public employment services continue to be fit-for-purpose and provides value for money. This must be balanced against maintaining sufficient employment services capacity as needed by those who have lost their jobs as a result of the on-going public health crisis.

Any provision for contracted Public Employment Services in 2021 will be in the context of managing and responding to the labour market impacts of Covid-19. My Department will work to ensure there is sufficient capacity within the Public Employment Service to provide a high quality service to help individuals back into employment.

My Department is considering how to ensure that we have sufficient capacity in the Public Employment Service to ensure that we are in a position to provide the necessary supports and services to individuals who have lost employment arising from the labour market impacts of the pandemic

The publication of the report will be dependent on the timing of any competitive procurement competition in relation to the provision of contracted public employment services to my Department.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.