Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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153. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will respond to correspondence from an organisation (details supplied); if she will ensure that senior representatives of her Department, the organisation and other key stakeholders can have further engagements in relation to the most pragmatic and collaborative way forward and ensure constructive discussions regarding the continued provision of local employment services for communities in Ireland by members of the organisation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50069/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I have noted the correspondence from the ILDN that the Deputy refers to and will issue a response shortly.

The current procurement process for employment services follows extensive consultations by my Department with the existing service providers over the last number of years. Officials in my Department also visited every Local Employment Service and Job Club in 2019 to get their views on what a new employment service model would look like. Many of the suggestions made then, including multi-annual contracts and greater financial autonomy, were incorporated into the Regional Employment Services model.

In addition, the external consultants engaged by the Department in late 2019 engaged a cross-section of relevant stakeholders before drafting their report.

My officials will continue the ongoing dialogue with the ILDN and other parties, including staff representatives. This will include further engagement with these organisations as the procurement process proceeds. My Department must adhere to its public procurement obligations and procure these new high-quality employment services in an open and competitive manner that is fair to all interested parties.