Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 February 2019
632. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the cost of operating community employment schemes, JobPath, Tús and local employment services in each of the years 2015 to 2018 and to date in 2019, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8231/19]
View answerMy Department provides a range of activation supports catering for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market to secure and sustain full-time paid employment. These supports include the Community Employment (CE), Tús, JobPath and Local Employment Schemes (LES).
The aim of CE is to enhance the employability and mobility of disadvantaged and unemployed persons by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their communities. It also helps long-term unemployed people to re-enter the active workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to work routine. Schemes are typically sponsored by voluntary and community organisations wishing to benefit the local community and virtually all participants are engaged in some element of service support and delivery - e.g. amenities management, arts and culture, sports, tidy towns, childcare and health-related services.
The Tús initiative is a community work placement scheme providing short-term working opportunities for unemployed people. The work opportunities are to benefit the community and are provided by community and voluntary organisations in both urban and rural areas. The initiative is delivered through the network of local development companies and Údarás na Gaeltachta in Gaeltacht areas, collectively known as the Implementing Bodies (IBs). The purpose of the scheme is the provision of quality work for those who are unemployed in order to break the cycle of unemployment and to improve a person’s opportunities in returning to the labour market.
JobPath came into operation in July 2015. The roll-out of JobPath commenced in July 2015 on a “soft launch” basis and was completed in June 2016. JobPath is a case-managed employment service where jobseekers receive intensive individual support to help them address barriers to employment and to find jobs. The service supports people who are long-term unemployed to obtain and sustain paid employment. Between July 2015 and February 2019 some 209,000 jobseekers have engaged with the service.
JobPath is a payment by results model and all set-up and day-to-day operational costs are borne by the companies. The companies are paid on the basis of performance and with the exception of the initial registration fee, payments are made only when a client has achieved sustained employment. The overall cost of JobPath will be determined by the number of people who participate in the programme and the number who get sustainable jobs.
The Department contracts for the provision of the local employment service (LES) with 22 local development/community companies. The LES have been engaged to deliver services to two client groups: unemployed jobseekers referred for activation by the Department and ‘other’ client groups, who attend the service voluntarily. The ‘other’ client group include people who have a disability, lone parents, early school leavers, qualified adults, non-Live Register returners (previously women returners), ex-offenders, members of the travelling community, long term unemployed (LTU) refugees and low income small holders.
Table 1 - Annual expenditure 2015 to date by DEASP programme
|
Programme |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 (provisional) |
2019 to date |
|
Community Employment |
€364.99m |
€356.34m |
€350.48m |
€353.07m |
€44.36m |
|
JobPath |
€1.24m |
€25.19m |
€57.42m |
€71.70m |
€7.00m |
|
Tús |
€124.57m |
€118.60m |
€109.54m |
€110.54m |
€22.61m |
|
Local Employment Service |
€19.51m |
€18.43m |
€18.56m |
€18.49m |
€2.10m |
