Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 March 2013
338. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a school (details supplied) in County Wicklow that applied to participate in the JobBridge scheme was refused entry to the scheme and the action that can be taken to ensure that this school can avail of administrative support through this scheme. [15170/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will be aware that JobBridge, the National Internship Scheme, was launched on 1st July 2011. It provides internship opportunities of either 6 or 9 months for unemployed individuals on the Live Register, in organisations in the private, public and community voluntary sectors.
I wish to advise the Deputy that the deadline for applications for 9 month internships in the education sector was 14th September 2012 and for 6 month internships the deadline was 7th December 2012. These closing dates were chosen to ensure that interns could complete their internship prior to the summer holiday period. All internships in schools must finish by the 28th June 2013, consistent with the approach taken for the 2011/12 academic year. This decision was clearly advertised on the home page of the JobBridge website and every effort was made to provide reasonable notice of this arrangement to potential education sector host organisations. In line with this decision, education sector host organisations may submit applications from August to December 2013 for placements for the academic year 2013/14.
