Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 April 2014
86. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a full list of organisations that employed in the past or currently employ persons under the JobBridge national internship scheme; the number of persons that each of these organisations employed or currently employ under the schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18144/14]
View answer87. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection the total number of persons who have gone through the internship programme; the number of these persons who have obtained full-time employment at the end of this process; if she is concerned that many organisations including public bodies are essentially using these schemes to fill normal vacancies that arise in their organisation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18145/14]
View answer96. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of places created through JobBridge to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18244/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 86, 87 and 96 together.
It is the Department’s policy not to release the names of host organisations participating in the JobBridge scheme. However, over 12,000 host organisations have participated in the scheme since its inception on 1st July, 2011. As at 10th April 2014, 27,781 interns had participated in JobBridge, of whom 6,666 are currently on internships.
The independent evaluation conducted by Indecon found that 61% of interns moved into employment 5 or more months after completing their internship. This figure compares favourably with similar schemes across the OECD.
Host organisations are precluded from filling a position with a JobBridge intern that would otherwise be filled by a paid employee. On the other hand, host organisations are required to provide the intern with a high quality real-workplace experience. To ensure that JobBridge interns do not displace employees, the Department maintains rigorous monitoring and control measures, including at the point of registration and advertisement, review of monthly online compliance reports, random on-site monitoring visits including discussions with both host organisation and intern, and the investigation of complaints received from interns or concerned individuals. The Department treats such complaints very seriously and remedial action is taken in all cases of non-compliance.
However, it is important to highlight that the overwhelming majority of companies are abiding by the terms and conditions of the JobBridge scheme. Over 3,000 monitoring visits have been conducted to-date and 98% of these visits are of a satisfactory nature. In addition, the independent evaluation of JobBridge found there to be only minimal deadweight and displacement.
