Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 March 2022
73. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of the contracts with all third-party operators that engage on behalf of her Department in 2021 and to date in 2022; and the schemes that they operate on behalf of the Department in tabular form. [14860/22]
View answerI understand that the Deputy has clarified that the question specifically refers to third party operators that have assisted the Department in its schemes or delivery of services to the public during 2021 and to date in 2022. My officials have identified four main areas which meet this criterion: externally contracted employment services, payment services, translation & interpretation services and customer helpline support.
1. Externally Contracted Employment Services
The Department contracts external employment services through four programmes: JobPath, Local Employment Services (LES), EmployAbility and Job Clubs. Externally contracted provision supports the Department with additional capacity and access to specialised skills to meet the requirements of jobseekers. My Department has committed in a number of policy documents (e.g., Make Work Pay for People with Disabilities, Roadmap for Social Inclusion, and Pathways to Work) to extend employment support services to a wider range of cohorts including people with disabilities, lone parents and qualified adults. It is important that the Department maintains sufficient jobseeker support capacity to meet current and future needs in order to be able to provide a high-quality service to these customers and respond effectively and quickly to rises in unemployment.
The table below shows the expenditure on these services for 2021 and to date in 2022. The Deputy will be aware that payments to individual contractors is commercially sensitive information and to publish would place the State at a disadvantage both in terms of the contracts currently in place and in any future procurement that may be undertaken. Therefore, the overall expenditure on each programme per year has been provided.
|
Year |
2021 |
2022 |
|
JobPath |
€34m |
€8m |
|
Local Employment Service (LES) |
€18.5m |
€700,000 |
|
EmployAbility |
€8.4m |
€360,000 |
|
Job Clubs |
€4m |
€143,000 |
2. Payment Services
My Department’s payment services are provided by Danske Bank and An Post. The cost of the An Post cash payment services contract for 2021 is €49.6m. Note that this figure has not been fully reconciled so it may change slightly when the 2021 accounts are finalised later this year.
3. Interpretation & Translation Services
Details of annual expenditure on services is set out in the table below:
|
Year |
2021 |
2022 |
|
Translation & Interpretation services |
€14,034* |
Not available |
|
Irish Sign Language Interpretation Services |
€5,798* |
Not available |
* This figure does not include translation of documents - interpretation and on-the-spot translation only.
The Department has not been invoiced yet for services in 2022.
4. Contact Management/Customer Helpline support
A third-party provider was engaged to support contact management and related services on a drawdown basis to assist the Department in responding to queries from customers relating to the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP). This support enabled the Department to provide a fast and flexible response to surges in customer call volumes. Under the terms of the contract, the third-party operator provides information to customers. This contracted provision is being utilised to supplement the Department’s existing income support line. To represent the true cost of services the figure provided for in 2021 includes costs paid in 2022 but incurred in 2021.
|
.
|
Spend on 2021 Services |
Spend on 2022 Services |
|
Abtran - Contact Management and Related Administration Services |
€482,000 |
€72,800 |
Finally, my Department operates an extensive network of Social Welfare Branch Offices which utilise contracts for the management and operation of the office. However, Branch Offices are fully integrated with the Department’s systems and work processes and are effectively presented as an office of the Department, distinguished only by the employment status of the Branch Manager. On that basis, Branch Offices are not directly comparable with service providers who operate at arm’s length from the Department and who clearly adopt a separate public identity.
