Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 January 2019
1117. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans for JobPath once the current contract expires at the end of 2019; if she will re-tender for the service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1727/19]
View answerThe JobPath employment service commenced in July 2015 and 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.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
