I propose to take Questions Nos. 949 and 950 together.
My Department has contracts with 23 service providers for the provision of an Employability service across the State. In 2023, the total contract value for those contracts is approximately €10.9 million.
The decision of the board of Employability West to cease operations and to decline the Department’s offer of a contact for the provision of services in 2022 was disappointing but entirely a decision of that Board and not in any way enforced by the Department. Other EmployAbility service providers in the Dublin area were in a position to ensure continuity of services in West Dublin. No specific assessment was undertaken on the impact of the closure of EmployAbility West.
Engagement with EmployAbility service is entire voluntary and there are currently very short waiting lists for the service.
My officials are preparing a procurement process to update current EmployAbility service contracts in order to comply with legal advice from the Attorney General and Chief State Solicitor’s Office and to meet the Department’s objective of shifting emphasis from financial monitoring of Service Providers to focusing on service quality for clients.
It is not the intention of this procurement to significantly change the nature of the services currently provided to clients, reflecting the overall effectiveness of the current service. Independent reviews undertaken of the service provision found that they were broadly satisfactory.
The proposed new EmployAbility contract model aims to enhance the autonomy of the service providers giving them control over financial and staffing decisions to enable them to more effectively provide a high-quality employment service for people with disabilities.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
