Written Answers Nos. 482-501
482. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education the position regarding support for crèches in which they are providing care for children of essential workers but are now in a position of insufficient funding to keep the crèche open; if additional support will be provided for these key services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4383/21]
View answerThe provision of early learning and childcare services is the responsibility of the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
483. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education if concerns raised by parents of children in a school (details supplied) will be addressed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4416/21]
View answerThe public health restrictions which resulted in the closure of schools in March 2020 highlighted the absolute necessity for schools to be agile in providing for continuity of schooling in the future. As a contingency measure against the possibility of partial or full school closures, my Department has already provided a suite of guidance materials, agreed with the education partners, to enable schools to facilitate the continuity of learning. These are available at www.gov.ie/backtoschool .
This documentation has been complemented by Circular 0074/2020 (Communication/Teaching & Learning Platform) which requires all schools to have in place appropriate contingency measures to ensure that they are prepared to continue to support teaching and learning in the event of a partial or full closure of schools arising from Public Health advice.
It is crucially important that the learning of all students are supported at this time. Teachers should continue to engage with their students and differentiate teaching and learning in line with their students’ needs to minimise disruption to their learning and progression.
Should a parent have concerns regarding teaching and learning in their child’s school, this can be done by discussing the matter informally with the principal.
The Department will also be engaging with schools to support and advise on remote learning provision so that any difficulties experienced by schools can be addressed in line with published guidance.
484. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education the position regarding the case of a child (details supplied). [4417/21]
View answerEnabling children with special educational needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government.
This year, over 20% of the total Education budget or €2bn will be invested in supporting children with special educational needs. As a result, the numbers of special education teachers, SNAs and special class and school places are at unprecedented levels.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide. My Department will continue to support the NCSE and schools through the provision of the necessary funding and capital investment to ensure all children are successful in accessing an education.
In circumstances, where no placement is available for a child with special educational needs, the Department can provide Home Tuition grant funding towards the provision of 20 hours home tuition per week as an interim measure until the NCSE confirms that a placement is available.
In relation to the case referenced by the Deputy, the parent is advised to contact their local Special Educational Needs Organiser (SENO) in respect of any difficulty they are experiencing in getting a suitable placement. SENO contact details are available on the NCSE website at: https://ncse.ie/regional-services-contact-list. A copy of this reply will be sent to the NCSE for its attention.
485. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education the position regarding the case of a child (details supplied) with special needs and their education. [4418/21]
View answerThe purpose of the Home Tuition Grant Scheme is to provide funding towards the provision of a compensatory educational service for children who, for a number of specific reasons, are unable to attend school.
Home tuition is not an alternative to a school placement and is provided in very limited and specific circumstances. By its nature, it is intended to be a short term intervention.
The scheme does not support children outside of these specific circumstances. An application for home tuition for the pupil referred to by the Deputy was received under the medical strand of the scheme. The application was refused on the basis that it did not meet the criteria for this strand. Education for pupils at very high risk due to COVID-19 is managed and delivered by their school.
My Department has published guidance to support schools in making adapted education provision for students with an underlying medical condition who cannot return to school because they are medically certified as being at very high risk to COVID-19.
The guidance for primary and post schools on supporting such students is available via the following link https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/a128d-back-to-school/
My Department also published updated Guidance on Continuity of Schooling: Supporting Pupils with Special Educational Needs.
The guidance builds on the key messages in a range of guidance materials which were issued to schools and centres for education as they were published.
In addition extensive support and advice for schools regarding the provision of distance learning is available through the Department’s support services and agencies including for those pupils with special educational needs.
486. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Education the budgetary analysis being carried out to plan for long Covid-19 impacts in her Department and each State agency under the remit of her Department in tabular form. [4483/21]
View answerCovid-19 has impacted significantly on all elements of our education system. Recognising that impact, this Government, in July 2020, approved a significant financial package to support the Roadmap for the Full Return to School for the 2020/2021 school year. These supports enabled schools to successfully reopen last August/September and helped sustain that reopening until mid-December. Government financial support has continued into 2021 with a significant allocation included in the Revised Estimates for my Department.
The funding package approved by the Government for 2020/2021 was a comprehensive one that now amounts to €639 million that is being used to provide the necessary supports and guidance for primary and post-primary schools to operate for the current 2020/21 school year. This funding was allocated as €331 million in 2020 and €308 million in 2021.
The range of supports being made available to schools under the package has included additional financial supports to provide for extra staffing, management supports, enhanced cleaning, hand hygiene and personal protective equipment costs under the Covid-19 response plans. Funding is also included for the continuation of additional educational psychological services to provide for well-being supports for students and for additional supports for the transport of pupils via the school transport scheme.
The Government also approved a significant capital package of minor works grants for primary and post-primary schools and an ICT grant to all schools to support them in preparing their buildings and classrooms for reopening and to underpin the delivery of education to our school students.
Conscious of the fact that the longer term position in regard to Covid remained uncertain, the Government, when formulating the 2021 Estimates, agreed to set aside a central contingency fund for all departments and related aegis bodies to be managed by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. This contingency fund will be available to meet Covid-19 costs that will arise across the education sector in the future.
487. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education the absolute and relative number of persons with disabilities employed by her Department in each of the years 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2020; if these persons are in full-time or part-time roles; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4523/21]
View answerPart 5 of the Disability Act 2005 requires that public bodies promote and support the employment of people with disabilities and ensure that 3% of staff employed by them are people with disabilities.
The following table provides the information sought by the Deputy including the percentage returns made to the National Disability Authority by my Department for the years in question. The Deputy should note that the numbers given only reflect employees that have declared a disability as the declaration of a disability is voluntary.
|
Year |
Staff Numbers |
Number of staff that declared a disability |
Percentage |
|
2015 |
1289 |
52 |
4.03% |
|
2016 |
1319 |
52 |
3.94% |
|
2017 |
1372 |
55 |
4.01% |
|
2018 |
1450 |
54 |
3.72% |
|
2019 |
1521 |
58 |
3.81% |
|
*2020 |
1367 |
49 |
3.58% |
*Following the formation of the new Government the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science was established on 23rd July 2020 so the figure for 2020 is the position at 31st December 2020 for my Department only.
While all posts are classified as full-time posts a range of family friendly policies including Shorter Working Year and a variety of work-sharing patterns are available to all staff.
488. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education the number of State and semi-State board appointments that fall under the aegis of her Department made since this Government took office including the name of the board or agency and the remuneration level associated with the board position in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4550/21]
View answer489. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education if she will provide a list of all State and semi-State boards that fall under the aegis of her Department; the level of remuneration being paid to each board member including chairpersons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4563/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 488 and 489 together.
The details concerning the eleven bodies under the aegis of my Department, sought by the Deputy, are available in the attached tables.
For the Deputy’s information, details of board appointments to State Boards under the remit of my Department, including the term of the specific appointment and remuneration levels (where fees are payable) are available from my Department’s website at https://www.education.ie/en/The-Department/Agencies/Details-of-Membership-of-State-Boards/ This information is regularly updated.
The Deputy should note that Board appointments, while made by me as Minister, are not in all cases made at my discretion. Individuals may be nominated for appointment by various organisations arising from the terms in the relevant legislation regarding the Body concerned.
490. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education the amount of funding allocated by her Department on the Covid-19 communications strategy since the beginning of the pandemic; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4755/21]
View answerThe Department is committed to providing clear communication to all stakeholders at all times in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Department does not hold a centralised budget for communication. Communication requirements are considered in line with policy development and an appropriate communications plan is devised to support the implementation of the relevant policy objective.
The majority of communication material development is developed within the Department without incurring additional costs.
If an advertising campaign or more complex communications campaign is required to meet an evolving need this will be considered at the time and a cost-effective plan will be devised.
491. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education the amount of funding spent by her Department on the Covid-19 communications strategy since the beginning of the pandemic; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4766/21]
View answerMy Department has prioritised clear communication with all stakeholders since the start of the pandemic and the closure of school buildings to pupils on 12 March 2020.
The focus has been on providing public health information and resources and age-appropriate materials for children, parents and school communities in appropriate and accessible formats, including multilingual communication and communication using ISL.
The two main campaigns have been the communications campaign with regard to the safe re-opening and ongoing safe sustaining of operation of schools in term 1, for which amount of €207,631.17 was expended, and the communications arising from the postponement of the examinations for Leaving Certificate 2020 and the establishment and operation of the Calculated Grades process, for which an amount of € 207,750.36 was expended.
492. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason funding was transferred from the Social Insurance Fund to the Exchequer in 2020; if the funding will be repaid over time to the fund to fund a future shortfall in PRSI receipts as against expenditure that might arise in the social welfare contributory system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3683/21]
View answerCertain expenditure on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) made before 5 August 2020 was charged to the Social Insurance Fund, having previously been charged to the Department's Vote. This expenditure related to many PUP recipients who had an underlying entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit or Jobseeker’s Benefit (Self-Employed).
The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) was introduced on 13 March 2020 to provide emergency financial aid to employees who had lost their job or had been temporarily laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to self-employed workers where their trading income had ceased due to COVID-19. Between March and August 2020, the entirety of PUP expenditure was charged to Vote 37.
The Social Welfare (Covid-19) (Amendment) Act 2020, enacted on 5th August, provides that: “Benefit to be paid or provided for out of the Social Insurance Fund shall include such sums as the Minister may estimate on the basis that may be agreed between the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in respect of the payments, commonly known as the pandemic unemployment payments, made under section 202 on and after 13 March 2020 to the relevant date”.
This provision allows for charging of a proportion of PUP expenditure prior to August 2020 to the Social Insurance Fund, rather than the Vote, on the basis that many PUP recipients would, in ordinary course, have qualified for Jobseeker’s Benefit or Jobseeker’s Benefit (Self-Employed). Following enactment, over €1.8 billion of pre-August PUP expenditure was charged to the Social Insurance Fund.
The Exchequer funds shortfalls in the Social Insurance Fund through a Subvention to cover any deficit of income over expenditure in the Fund. An Exchequer Subvention to the Social Insurance Fund was used in the past, from 1953 to 1997 and from 2010 – 2015 to fund expenditure where there was a shortfall in income from PRSI receipts.
It is expected that the Social Insurance Fund will be in deficit during Quarter 1 of 2021, at which time a Subvention from the Exchequer to the Social Insurance Fund will be required.
The transfer of funding between the Exchequer and the Social Insurance Fund in the future will be dependent on the buoyancy of PRSI receipts and the demands on expenditure, including contributory pensions, to be funded from the SIF over time.
493. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Social Protection if the pandemic unemployment payment will be extended to aviation workers until 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3994/21]
View answer504. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will address the concerns raised in correspondence (details supplied) about financial support measures for Irish pilots; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3874/21]
View answer518. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Social Protection if she plans to extend the pandemic unemployment payment past the current deadline of 31 March 2021 for workers in the aviation sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4140/21]
View answer532. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans for the rates of the pandemic unemployment payment after 31 March 2021; if the current rates will be retained given the severe impact of the pandemic on those who have lost their employment arising from the necessary public health measures; if a commitment will be given to not reduce the payment as previously indicated by Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4457/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 493, 504, 518 and 532 together.
Since last March over 14 million payments have issued under the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) with over 820,000 people receiving support under the scheme. The total cost of PUP to date is over €5.3 Billion. These figures reflect the unprecedented impact of Covid-19 on our economy and society and demonstrate also the Government's commitment to continue to provide effective targeted supports.
PUP will remain available until 31st March 2021 and I recently secured Government approval to retain payment at the existing rates which provides a level of reassurance to recipients at this time, including those in sectors, including aviation, most impacted by the pandemic.
The Government will continue to keep all aspects of the PUP under review and future decisions will be informed by the trajectory of the pandemic and the evolving public health situation.
494. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an application for a guardianship payment by a person (details supplied). [3639/21]
View answerThe person concerned has been awarded Guardian's Payment Contributory, for two children, at the rate of €186 per child, with effect from 29th May 2020. This was confirmed by letter dated 9th December 2020 to the person concerned.
The first payment issued for collection at the post office on 18th December 2020 and a cheque in respect of arrears issued last week.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
495. Deputy Chris Andrews asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) was not eligible to receive the fuel allowance; the amount by which they exceeded the threshold; and if they are now eligible for the fuel allowance if they were to reapply. [3643/21]
View answerFuel allowance is a means-tested payment to assist householders on long-term social welfare payments towards the cost of their heating needs.
The main eligibility conditions that apply to the fuel allowance scheme are that a person must be in receipt of a qualifying payment, must satisfy a means test and must either be living alone or with other qualifying persons. The fuel allowance means test is linked to the maximum rate of State pension (contributory). The applicant can have weekly means of €100.00 above the maximum rate of State pension (contributory) and still be eligible for a fuel allowance.
The person concerned applied for this allowance on 20 January 2020. Since it is a means-tested payment, information regarding their household means was requested on 15 February 2020 and again on 19 June 2020. As the requested information was not provided, the application could not be processed and was therefore disallowed. The person concerned was notified in writing of this decision on 20 August 2020.
It is open to the person concerned to reapply for the fuel allowance and provide the information required for the means assessment. The person’s eligibility for fuel allowance can then be determined and they will be notified of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
496. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the protocol that exists within her Department to enable homeless persons to be aware of and receive a basic weekly payment; her plans to improve its effectiveness in order that everyone is cherished equally; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3667/21]
View answerMy Department has a protocol in place for payments to homeless customers and staff make every effort to assist persons who are homeless so that they can avail of the Department’s services and income supports.
A person may apply for a social welfare payment even if they have no permanent address. An immediate payment may be issued under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Scheme and can be paid when a person presents without a permanent address. This means tested scheme is considered to be a ‘safety net’ within the overall social welfare system in that it provides immediate assistance to eligible people whose means are insufficient to meet their needs.
Homeless customers are advised to register with their Local Authority and to engage with the relevant services available to them, for example, the Homeless Action Team/Housing Assistance Payment Section.
In addition, the Department has a Customer Charter 2020-2022 which sets out what people can expect when they make contact with us and details our commitments to all our customers who wish to access our services.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
497. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of her plans regarding the implementation of recommendations from the 2018 Oireachtas committee on transport paper, Accessibility of Public Transport for People With Disabilities (details supplied, in particular reference to recommendation 9; her views on this recommendation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3684/21]
View answerThe Free Travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by over 80 private transport operators. There are currently approx. 948,000 customers with direct eligibility. The estimated expenditure on free travel in 2021 is €95 million.
The objective of the Free Travel scheme is to ensure that older people and people with disabilities remain active within their community. The scheme was never intended as a targeted support for people with severe mobility issues. Neither was the scheme ever intended to provide additional transport options to travel pass holders but to allow them access to existing services available from transport providers, who participate in the scheme.
If the Free Travel scheme was to be extended to all people who had a disability and/or significant health issues, regardless of whether they receive a qualifying payment, a medical assessment process would be required for all such applications, significantly changing the nature of the scheme. Any decision to change the eligibility criteria of the free travel scheme along such lines would have significant costs and require additional administrative processes to be put in place. Accordingly, it could only be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.
Under the “Make Work Pay” Initiative people in receipt of a long term disability payment who move off the payment to get a job can retain their Free Travel Card for a period of five years.
Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department may award a travel supplement, where the circumstances of the particular case so warrant. The supplement is intended to assist with ongoing or recurring travel costs that cannot be met from the client’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary. Every decision is based on consideration of the circumstances of the individual case, taking account of the nature and extent of the need and of the resources of the person concerned.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
498. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection if she plans to address circumstances in which there is joint co-parenting and equal shared custody of children following a relationship breakdown in which one parent receives all social welfare benefits and allowances and the other parent has no entitlement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3775/21]
View answerIn cases where parents have a joint custody arrangement that is not equally split, child income support payments are awarded to the parent who is the primary carer and with whom the child spends most of their time. In cases where the parents have an equal custody arrangement, individual payments follow the rules of the scheme concerned. For example, in the case of Child Benefit, the payment is awarded to the mother in equal custody arrangements as the mother is deemed to be the qualified person to receive this payment under social welfare legislation.
Either parent can apply for the Working Family Payment and can be awarded if they meet the eligibility criteria. In the case of separated parents one of the requirements is that the person must either be living with the child or children or be wholly maintaining their former spouse, civil partner or cohabitant with whom the child or children are living. Only one Working Family Payment claim can be awarded in respect of any child.
In order to be eligible for One-Parent Family Payment or Jobseekers' Transitional Payment the applicant must be the main carer for at least one child. This means that the child must live with and spend most of their time with that parent. So, those payments cannot be paid to either parent in circumstances where both parents are equally maintaining the child or children. Where a person who has an income need does not qualify for either of these payments they might qualify for another of the Department's income supports such as jobseeker's allowance.
I want to assure the Deputy that my Department keeps this approach under review. The Department regularly reviews all of its schemes in order to ensure that they are still delivering on their policy aims and objectives.
499. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will review under section 110(2) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 entitlement to a State pension (contributory) in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3779/21]
View answerThe person concerned reached pension age on 13 July 2015. They initially applied for State pension (contributory) on 27 July 2015. According to the records of my Department, the person had a contribution record of 226 paid full-rate social insurance contributions. As their contributions fell short of the required 520 paid full-rate contributions to qualify for State Pension (contributory), their claim was disallowed. They were notified in writing of this decision on 7 August 2015 and provided with a copy of their social insurance record on which the decision was based.
The person re-applied for State pension (contributory) and provided self-employment details. Under social welfare legislation, a self-employed contributor will not be regarded as satisfying the contribution conditions for State pension (contributory) unless the person has paid self-employment contributions in respect of at least one contribution year prior to reaching age 66 and all self-employment contributions payable have been paid.
While the person concerned has paid self-employment (Class S) contributions for the tax years 2006 to 2014, all self-employment contributions were paid after the person reached age 66. Therefore, under the governing legislation these self-employment contributions are not qualifying contributions for State pension (contributory) purposes. They cannot be included with the person’s 226 paid full-rate contributions for calculation of pension entitlement.
The person concerned was notified of this decision in writing on 19 November 2019. Following a requested review, this decision remained unchanged, and the person was advised accordingly on 11 March 2020. The person then appealed their pension decision to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office. Their appeal was disallowed on 27 July 2020.
They may wish to consider applying for State pension (non-contributory). An application form was provided to them on 11 March 2020. This is a means-tested, residency-based payment for people of pension age. Social welfare legislation provides that the means test takes account of the income and assets of the applicant (and spouse/civil partner/cohabitant as applicable). Income and assets include income from employment, self-employment, occupational pensions, maintenance payments as well as property owned (other than the family home) and capital such as savings, shares and other investments.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
500. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person (details supplied) is entitled to a pension from her Department given contributions paid prior to their emigration to the UK. [3782/21]
View answerAccording to the records of my Department, the person concerned reached pension age in 2004 and has not applied for State pension (contributory) to date. The person’s pension entitlement can only be determined on receipt of a formal application.
Applicants who reached pension age between 6 April 2002 and 5 April 2012 must have 260 Irish full-rate paid employment contributions in order to qualify for standard State pension (contributory).
Under the relevant European Union regulations, the insurance records of other Member States can be combined to satisfy this 260-contribution condition and give entitlement to a proportional or pro rata pension. Applicants are required to make their pension through the social security institution of their country of residence.
Since the person concerned is resident in the UK, they should apply to: The Pension Service, Pensions & Overseas Directorate, Tyneview Park, Whitley Rd, Benton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE98 1BA, England.
On receipt of the application and investigation of the person’s social insurance records by my Department, the person concerned will be notified in writing of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
501. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of administering the JobPath programme annually; the percentage of clients who go into full-time employment of at least one year’s duration afterwards; the value for money oversight that is conducted; the way in which JobPath compares to Tús in terms of progression to full-time work; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3781/21]
View answerJobPath provides long term unemployed Jobseekers with access to an employment assistance and advice service for a period of 12 months. JobPath providers are paid on the basis of performance and, with the exception of the initial registration fee; payments are made only when a client achieves sustained, full-time employment. Job Sustainment Fees are payable for each 13 week period of sustained employment, up to a maximum of 52 weeks. The final 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 annual total expenditure on JobPath is as follows:
2015 - €1.2m;
2016 - €25.2m;
2017 - €57.4m;
2018 - €71.7m
2019 - €58.6m
2020 - €36.2m
2021 - €2m (to date)
Total - €252.3m
Between July 2015 and December 2020, some 288,957 jobseekers, consisting mostly of those more than two years unemployed, had engaged with the JobPath service of whom 65,583 (23%) had commenced employment. To date 23,069 of these clients (35% of those who started employment or 8% of the total referred to the service) have sustained full time employment for a period of 12 months or more.
It should be noted that many clients who are currently engaged with JobPath are in the first phase of the service and have not spent sufficient time with the service to have either gained employment or sustain that employment for up to 52 weeks. It should also be noted also that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the numbers gaining and sustaining employment.
In April 2019, my Department conducted an in-depth econometric review of the JobPath service in collaboration with the OECD. The review measured the effectiveness of JobPath and examined the long-term impact of the service. The review indicated that weekly earnings of people who secured employment after JobPath engagement were 17% higher than the weekly employment earnings of people who secured employment without the support of JobPath in 2018. Taken with the 26% improvement in employment outcomes – the likelihood of a person getting a job - in the same period, it means the overall positive impact was 37% in 2018 for those supported by the JobPath service. My Department intends to continue to review the operation of the JobPath programme and will update these findings in due course.
The JobPath service and the Tús initiative are not directly comparable. As previously stated, JobPath provides employment assistance and advice while Tús is a community work placement scheme providing short-term working opportunities for unemployed people. The Department does not collate Tús progression rates into full time employment.
It should be noted that jobseekers currently engaged with the JobPath service have the option of applying for a placement on Community Employment (CE) or TÚS, while continuing to engage with the JobPath service.
