Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 December 2018
72. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the contracts with JobPath providers will be extended; the date on which the current contracts expire; if a value for money study will be commissioned into the service provided by both companies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53449/18]
View answerJobPath is a service which supports people who are long-term unemployed to secure and sustain full time paid employment. Two companies, Seetec and Turas Nua, have been contracted by my Department to deliver the service. The contracts are for six years, comprising two consecutive phases: phase one entails four years’ of client referrals, while phase two entails a ‘run off’ period during which time no additional clients will be referred. Therefore client referrals will cease on 31st December 2019 and the contracts will terminate in 2021. It is important to note that services will be delivered to completion for those clients referred during phase one.
The contracts include options to extend phase one for further periods (up to a maximum of 24 months) at my Department’s discretion. While proposals to extend the contracts are not currently under consideration, my Department will keep the situation under review.
At present, a full econometric evaluation of the service is being conducted in conjunction with the OECD. The results of this econometric evaluation will inform my Department's consideration of any future developments in this area.
