I propose to take Questions Nos. 302, 341, 355 and 360 together.
The Department does not maintain statistics on JobBridge internships by Nace Rev. 2 codes or on the education profile of interns by economic sector. 125, 341 and 357 internships started in Waterford City and County in the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. 622 and 573 internships started in Counties Louth and Meath respectively since the commencement of the scheme in July 2011. The independent evaluation of JobBridge found that 61.4% of all interns moved into employment after 5 months or more of finishing their internship. The Department does not disclose the names of host organisations participating in the scheme.
In common with other training programmes, a potential JobBridge intern must complete their Youthreach programme in order for time spent on the course to count towards eligibility for JobBridge and they must have a live qualifying claim in order to commence a JobBridge internship. This means that they must register a claim for, and be approved to receive, a jobseeker payment.