Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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202. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the up-to-date position on a matter (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47727/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department recently completed a significant expansion of employment services across the State.  This includes the provision of a State-wide intensive employment service for those furthest from the labour market - the new Intreo Partners Local Area Employment Service (IPLAES).  This new service will for the first time provide a single comprehensive service for all of County Kerry. 

In a competition run in accordance with EU procurement rules, 17 community and voluntary sector organisations were successful and were awarded contracts to provide the new IPLAES.  These contracts replace the previous Local Employment Service and Job Club contracts.  16 of these contracts are now in place and the new service is being mobilised with the support of my Department. 

County Kerry became a single lot for the purposes of the new employment service.  The successful bidder was North East and West Kerry Development (NEWKD), with another Kerry-based community body, South Kerry Development Partnership, as sub-contractor.

The Kerry IPLAES is part of a State-wide expansion that represents a significant increase in state investment in these services from €23m per annum to €39m per annum, exclusive of VAT.  The services represent a substantial expansion on employment services previously available to the long term unemployed cohort who will benefit from this new expanded service. 

It is forecast that this new service will mean that in County Kerry over €1.4 million per annum will be spent engaging with those furthest from the labour market, maintaining existing funding but with a greater focus on employment outcomes.

Some former providers of LES and Job Club services, including those who successfully bid for the new contracts,  have issued redundancy notices to some of their staff. This is despite the increased overall investment in services. My Department cannot direct or determine the employment and staffing of third-party contractors.

My Department is not the employer of contracted staff and therefore the responsibility for any redundancy payments rests solely with the employer. Where an employer is unable to pay statutory redundancy, they can make an application to the my Department’s Redundancy and Insolvency service.

I trust this clarifies the position.