asked the Minister for Social Welfare the guidelines which are being applied in the operation of the Jobsearch Programme; in particular where persons on temporary lay-off should be referred for Jobsearch Programmes; whether persons being proposed for Jobsearch courses should have no interview to see whether they would benefit from the programme, as has occured in Deputy Bruton's constituency; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Jobsearch Programme.
38.
As the Deputy may be already aware from statements I have made the Jobsearch Programme provides that 150,000 of those on the live register will be referred by my Department to the National Manpower Service for interview by the end of December next. The purpose of this interview is to help those involved to assess their strengths and weaknesses and to assist in their efforts to find work. On the basis of these interviews, 40,000 will be offered Manpower scheme opportunities and 12,000 will be placed in Jobsearch courses which are designed to assist participants in their search for a job, and to provide them with free facilities to do so.
The broad guidelines governing the operation of this programme are that it should apply in the main to the longer term unemployed i.e. those out of work for six months or more and that it should concentrate generally on the 20-55 age group. It was planned that the 150,000 concerned who would be interviewed by the National Manpower Service for the purposes of this programme, would all have been referred to Manpower by my Department.
In order to fill Jobsearch courses during the first week or so in some areas and to get the programme fully under way the National Manpower Service selected some unemployed people from their own register for the purposes of these courses without reference to my Department. However, my information from the National Manpower Service is that in every one of these cases arising in the Deputy's constituency the people concerned have been interviewed in the context of the Jobsearch Programme.
If the Deputy wishes to give me details of the case which gave rise to his question I will have it examined.