Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 May 2013
11. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on her Department's work in introducing a work placement initiative to allow the unemployed to work within local authorities. [25640/13]
View answerThe Government, as part of the Budget package for 2013, announced a number of initiatives focused on providing work opportunities for jobseekers, including the provision of 10,000 additional work placements across a number of schemes. The additional placements on community employment, Tús and JobBridge have already been rolled-out and are in the process of being filled by the sponsoring organisations and implementing bodies. The Budget package introduced a new initiative with local authorities to provide 3,000 part-time work opportunities in 2013. This is in line with the commitments set out in the Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work.
The design of this initiative has been largely completed and local authorities have been engaged in a process of identifying the nature of work and range of opportunities that can be made available across their administrative and operational areas. Local authorities have been asked to complete consultations with staff representative bodies and other key stakeholders to enable the scheme to commence on a staged basis over the coming months. Currently, 13 local authorities have agreed to lead out the first wave of the initiative and selection of participants will commence by the Department of Social Protection in the coming weeks. Following referral of interested customers by the Department, each local authority will conduct their own recruitment process, involving skill profiling, job matching and vetting by An Garda Síochána before a person is assigned to a position. My understanding is that the local authorities in this first wave have identified some 700 positions to be filled before the end of September. The remaining placements are in the process of being identified with a view to having commenced recruitment by the end of 2013.
