Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 March 2014
93. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will confirm, following the loss of the jobs initiative scheme in Offaly County Council, which provided works on graveyards and cemeteries throughout the county, whether it will be replaced by the Gateway pilot programme which is currently being run on a pilot basis by Dublin City Council; and, if so, the timeframe envisaged. [11064/14]
View answerGateway is part of a suite of initiatives being offered by the Department of Social Protection which are designed to bridge the gap between unemployment and re-entering the workforce. A budget of €19m has been earmarked for the initiative in 2014. Gateway is fulfilling the obligation in the Government's programmes Pathways to Work and the Action Plan for Jobs which sets out specific commitments in which local authorities can support labour market activation schemes. Responsibility for delivery of this initiative rests with individual county and/or city councils with an overall target to provide for 3,000 placements by the end of the year. Participants, 24 months or more on a jobseeker's payment, are currently being randomly selected by the Department for recruitment by county and city councils.
To date, sixty participants have commenced work with three local authorities. Offaly County Council has received an allocation of 55 participants under Gateway and final responsibility for the selection of these participants and the roles and functions allocated to them rests with them.
