Joe Higgins
Question:27. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Social Protection if any Department or statutory body has been banned from making use of the JobBridge scheme. [10477/14]
View answerWednesday, 5 March 2014
Questions (27, 41, 44)
Joe Higgins
Question:41. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of Members of the Oireachtas who employ persons under the JobBridge scheme either in their constituency offices or in companies they own; if she will provide the names of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10478/14]
View answer
Aengus Ó Snodaigh
Question:44. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason for her decision to make JobBridge an involuntary scheme for young persons as part of the Youth Guarantee in view of the regular emphasis she placed on the voluntary nature of participation on the scheme theretofore. [10344/14]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 27, 41 and 44 together.
The total cost to the Exchequer of JobBridge, including underlying social welfare and top-up payments, is approximately €80m. per annum. JobBridge is one of the key initiatives introduced to assist individuals to bridge the gap between unemployment and the world of work. To date over 26,000 jobseekers and some 12,000 companies have participated in the scheme. There are over 6,500 jobseekers currently participating.
I have taken the view that, as participation as a host organisation is voluntary and as host organisations receive no payment from the State in relation to their participation in JobBridge, it is not necessary to publish their names. In coming to this view I am informed by the very high progression to employment rates under the JobBridge scheme, which an independent evaluation by Indecon shows to be in excess of 60%, and am concerned that nothing should be done that might discourage companies from participating in the scheme.
The scheme is not currently open to members of the Oireachtas to recruit interns to undertake an internship in their constituency offices nor is it open to political parties to recruit interns. However, companies owned by members of the Oireachtas may participate in the scheme provided that the company is fully compliant with all scheme eligibility criteria. The Department does not collect data in relation to the ownership of companies that host interns.
Under the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan, the Department is developing a variant of the JobBridge scheme for the most disadvantaged young people. The participation of clients, once referred by the Department, will be non-discretionary. This is because:
The variant scheme will see the Department dedicate extensive resources to the young jobseekers involved, and in the context of a guaranteed offer, the standard of mutual commitment must be higher.
The approach to recruitment and candidate preparation will be tailored specifically to reflect the needs of these young people.