Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 July 2013
661. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of social employment scheme places filled to date; whether any trial schemes have been launched; if she will provide a breakdown by local authority of the number of allocated places and the number filled; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35497/13]
View answerI presume that the Deputy is referring to the Gateway, a new initiative between my Department and local authorities which the Government announced as part of the Budget package for 2013. The package included 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.
Gateway is a new initiative with local authorities to provide part-time work opportunities. This is in line with the commitments set out in An Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work. The design of Gateway 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.
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. Already, 13 local authorities have identified some 800-1,000 places for immediate recruitment with the objective of beginning work in late September-early October 2013 (pending improvements in the timeframe for Garda Vetting). Selection of potential participants is due to commence in the coming week and therefore no places have as yet been filled.
In addition to the above local authorities fifteen county and city councils intend to begin selection in August and September with a view to adding 600-1,000 placements when fully operational. The remaining places will be filled in 2014 (pending completion of selection, recruitment and vetting processes).
