John Lahart
Question:100. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress that has been made under Pathways to Work; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34936/22]
View answerThursday, 14 July 2022
Questions (100)
Written answers
Pathways to Work 2021 - 2025, the national employment services strategy, was launched in July 2021. Stated simply, the goal of Pathways to Work is to ensure that as many opportunities as possible are filled by people who are unemployed or who are out of the labour force. This includes those whose jobs were lost due to COVID-19, those already on the Live Register pre-pandemic and those in society that face particular challenges in entering the labour market and sustaining employment.
Since Pathways to Work was launched in July 2021, there have been notable achievements in delivering on the ambition set out in the strategy. Some of the high-level successes include but are not limited to:
- Expanding the capacity of the Public Employment Service across the State;
- Providing funding for an additional 50,000 places in further and higher education;
- Introducing early access to the JobsPlus employer financial incentive in relation to applicants under 30 years of age;
- Launching the Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP), which is a 6-month, 30 hour per week voluntary work experience programme, for persons out of work for six months or more; and
- Reserving places on public employment programmes for people from disadvantaged and minority backgrounds, including young people.
According to the latest estimates from the CSO’s Labour Force Survey (Q1, 2022), the Irish labour market continues to recover strongly, post-COVID. The number of people in employment is now above 2.5 million, the highest level in the history of the State, while participation rates in the economy continue to be above where they stood pre-pandemic, driven primarily by the increase in female participation. Furthermore, the unemployment rate for June stood at 4.8 percent, around pre-pandemic levels.
While these developments are welcome, I am keenly aware that not all groups have benefited equally from the improved labour market. Pathways to Work contains the goal of ensuring that all sections of society enjoy better labour market outcomes.
In addition, in order to guarantee robust oversight of Pathways to Work, external oversight of the strategy is entrusted to the Labour Market Advisory Council. I have asked the Council to provide me with a report in the third quarter of this year on its views on the progress made in the first twelve months in implementing Pathways commitments.