Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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326. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will provide an update in respect of her ambition to outsource local employment services. [19047/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Local Employment Services have been outsourced since their inception in the 1990s. My Department is currently undertaking a significant expansion of public employment services. In particular, specialised employment services for those farthest from the labour market - currently available in just twelve counties - will soon be available State-wide for the first time.

In the first phase of this procurement, contracts for Intreo Partners - Local Area Employment Services (LAES) were agreed in late 2021 across four lots in seven counties in the Midlands and North-East. These new services are now operational and accepting referrals.

Phase two of the Intreo Partners - LAES procurement commenced with the publication of the request for tender on 21 December last. My Department recently extended the deadline for tenders to 19 April to ensure all interested parties, including the non-profit sector, will have sufficient time to prepare quality tender responses that reflect their experience and capacity to deliver a quality service.

The Phase two Request for Tenders took on board many of the issues raised following feedback from the Phase 1 RFT. Of particular significance was the substantial increase in guaranteed annual referrals to the new services under Phase 2. The increase in guaranteed referral numbers was calculated on the basis of ensuring the financial viability of the new employment services with due regard to the cost structures of existing Job Clubs and Local Employment Services in the Phase 2 lot areas.