14 Oct 2014, 12:27
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection will tomorrow meet with Officials from the Department of Social Protection to consider the Pathways to Work Strategy for 2015.
14 October 2014
Earlier this month, the Taoiseach and Tánaiste launched Pathways to Work 2015 to drive progress in helping jobseekers return to work. Pathways to Work was originally launched in 2012, and has been up-dated and renewed on an annual basis since then. Deputy Secretary General Anne Vaughan will lead the Department delegation in updating the Committee on the 2015 Strategy.
Chair of the Committee Joanna Tuffy TD says: “The Pathways to Work initiative seeks to ensure that as many newly created jobs as possible go to people on the Live Register. The unemployment rate has been reducing sharply, from a crisis peak of over 15 percent to just over 11 percent today. Despite this welcome progress, the numbers on the live register remain unacceptably high and the Committee will have an opportunity to examine the operation and effectiveness of the various component programmes of the Pathways to Work Strategy.
“The JobPath scheme, which specifically targets the 178,000 long term unemployed, will be a focus for the Committee discussions. The Department awarded a contract to two private firms which will add a combined 1,000 caseworkers to help tackle long term unemployment. Committee Members will be keen to explore the new approach to activation underlying Jobpath, the costs associated with this outsourcing and how the proposed ‘payment-by-results’ system will work in practice.”
“I expect that the Committee will also wish to raise concerns in relation to the JobBridge National Internship Programme. We will be particularly interested in exploring allegations in relation to abuse of the scheme, including those in employment in the education sector. As a scheme aimed at providing genuine work experience, the Committee will seek assurances that the scheme is not displacing real jobs.”
The meeting takes place at 1pm tomorrow Wednesday 15 October in Committee Room 3, LH 2000. The meeting can be viewed online here.
Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.
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Committee Membership
Deputy Joanna Tuffy - Chair
Deputies James Bannon, Ray Butler, Joan Collins, Michael Conaghan, Clare Daly, Brendan Griffin , Jim Daly, Derek Keating, Charlie McConalogue, Jonathan O’Brien, Willie O’Dea, Aengus Ó Snodaigh, Brendan Ryan
Senators Jim D'Arcy, Marie Moloney, Mary Moran, Hildegarde Naughten, Marie-Louise O’Donnell, Averil Power