Employment Support Services

Tuesday, 13 June 2023

Questions (817)

Colm Burke

Question:

817. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on the number of people who are on the live register in each town in County Cork; the number of people on the live register for more than 24 months in each town in County Cork; the number of people who have been referred to the local area employment service in each town in County Cork since September 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27815/23]

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Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

There were 14,513 individuals on the Live Register in Cork in May 2023. Of these, 3,842 have been on the Live Register for 2 years or more. The breakdown by Social Welfare Office is shown in Table 1 and Table 2 below.

Table 1: May 2023 Live Register in Cork, by Social Welfare Office

Bandon	472
Bantry	514
Bantry (SWLO)	119
Carrigaline	576
Clonakilty	553
Cobh	357
Cork City	5,697
Fermoy	930
Kinsale	453
Macroom	550
Mallow	1,101
Midleton	1,096
Newmarket	702
Skibbereen	584
Youghal	809
Cork County - Total	14,513

Table 2: May 2023 Live Register in Cork with duration of two or more years, by Social Welfare Office

Bandon	121
Bantry	119
Bantry (SWLO)	31
Carrigaline	185
Clonakilty	160
Cobh	85
Cork City	1,382
Fermoy	310
Kinsale	137
Macroom	193
Mallow	340
Midleton	254
Newmarket	151
Skibbereen	156
Youghal	218
Cork County - Total	3,842

The Intreo Partner Local Area Employment Service is a new service intended to support people who are long-term unemployed clients farthest from the labour market with barriers to labour market participation and that warrant the provision of intensive employment support services, and are in receipt of a social welfare payment, and others that although not long-term unemployed are considered by the Department to warrant the provision of intensive employment support services.

This service was a result of a recent procurement process which saw Cork City Partnership lead a successful bid for the Lot 1 Cork area. The current Estimated Minimum Annual Referral figure for the Cork area contract is 2,410, and as of the 6th of June 2023 there have been 1,862 customers referred to the relevant providers within that catchment area since service commenced in September 2022.

It is important to stress that this represents a live commercial contract, with a minimum duration of three years remaining. The contract places obligations on the Contracting Authority and on the Contractor and some of the information contained if made public would place the State at a disadvantage both during the existing contract and should any future procurement be considered. Due to these considerations, it is not the intention of the Department to divulge details relating to referral rates by location except to confirm the level of referrals at overall Lot level.