Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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511. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the annual budget for the JobPath scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25014/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, referrals to the JobPath service have ceased and the service is now in a run-off phase, with only clients referred up to June 2022 remaining engaged with the service. The annual JobPath budget for 2023 is €20M.

As part of a restructuring of employment services, my Department has increased its own employment service capacity delivered through Intreo and has expanded employment services in some areas of the State where there were no Local Employment Services with the introduction of the new Intreo Partners model; the Intreo Partners Local Area Employment Service and the Intreo Partners National Employment Service. The annual Intreo Partners budget for 2023 is €78M.

A distinctive client journey has been embedded into the employment services process, whereby jobseekers on the Live Register, after engaging with Intreo in the first twelve months are referred firstly to the Intreo Partner National Employment Service and after 24 months to the Intreo Partner Local Area Employment Service which is designed to engage with those with greater barriers to the labour market. In this way, the client is referred to the most appropriate service at each point in time on their client journey.

Employment is now at among the highest levels in the history of the State, with over 2.55 million people in employment. Notwithstanding this, my Department keeps all employment services and supports under review so that they continue to meet the needs of our clients. A midterm review of the actions and commitments in the Pathways to Work strategy is underway at present, to ensure that they remain relevant and effective in improving the employment prospects and outcomes for people underrepresented in the labour market.

I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.