Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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82. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the analysis her Department has carried out into phase 1 of the roll-out of the new local area employment service; her plans to publish this analysis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5470/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department is procuring a new Local Area Employment Service over two distinct phases.

Phase one of the process for procuring new employment services involved seven counties in the Midlands and North West currently without a Local Employment Service, contracts were signed last month and services are in the process of being mobilised.

Phase two of the process has now commenced, with the publication in December of a request for tender for seventeen lots covering 19 counties. Services for this phase will begin in July 2022.

Prior to phase 2 commencing, my Department's officials engaged extensively with stakeholders with the purpose of seeking and receiving feedback in relation to the phase 1 RFT.

As part of this process my Department met with trade unions, providers and representative bodies. It also held a specific stakeholder online Information Session on 9 November, where over one hundred and fifty interested parties listened to an overview of the planned Phase 2 procurement by my officials before engaging in a ninety-minute questions and answers session. Participants were invited to submit written comments and suggestions in advance of the finalisation of the phase 2 RFT. Where possible and appropriate, amendments to the design of the RFT were included in the phase 2 RFT, which was published on the 21 December last.

This RFT contains a number of changes including increasing the marks awarded for quality to 80% and reducing cost to 20%. As well as this, significant increases in minimum annual referral numbers were provided and the requirement for reference contracts and minimum turnover were reduced.