Written Answers Nos. 11-17
12. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection if she is concerned at the failure of 40% of those who take an internship through JobBridge to secure full-time employment on completing that internship; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17733/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe aim of JobBridge is to help individuals break the vicious cycle whereby they cannot get a job without experience but they can’t get experience without a job. An evaluation conducted by Indecon Economic Consultants found that 61% of interns who finish placements secure employment within five months. These progression outcomes compare very favourably to those elsewhere in Europe which tend to be at around 30%.
Accordingly I am very satisfied with the performance of JobBridge. As at 10 April, 2014, 27,781 internship placements had commenced with over 6,600 participants in active internships and 2,482 internship posts advertised and available on the JobBridge website. The total cost to the Exchequer of the top-up allowances paid to-date is €29.3 million.
I believe that this performance is due, at least in part, to the voluntary nature of the relationship between the host organisation and the intern. A key feature of the scheme is that interns select and apply for internships which they themselves identify from the internships offered by employers. In this way the internship is designed to be as close as possible to a real employment situation. In addition host organisations must provide meaningful work experience to interns, commit to a standard agreement detailing expected learning outcomes for the intern, provide mentoring to each intern, submit monthly reports to the Department and, at the end of the internship, complete an evaluation questionnaire and provide each intern with a reference. All of these factors taken together contribute to the high rates of progression of interns into employment.
Even in those instances where interns are unable to move directly into employment from a JobBridge internship, the independent evaluation found that interns gain valuable skills and real-workplace experience through JobBridge and that participants themselves found that the scheme boosted their self-confidence and helped to establish useful labour market contacts and networks. It is therefore a scheme which I am proud to have introduced and one which I would commend to all jobseekers and employers.
As a further incentive to employers to take on people who are long-term unemployed I have recently launched JobsPlus. Approved employers may qualify for up €10,000 cashback for recruiting a person who has been long-term unemployed. This cashback is paid in the form of monthly payments of €447 per month for each month the jobseeker is in employment for up to 24 months. This is a significant incentive to recruit people who are long term unemployed and I am pleased to report that it is being positively supported by employers with about 2,000 jobseekers, 60% of whom were more than 2 years unemployed, benefiting from the scheme.
13. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the knock-on repercussions in areas like counties Kildare and Meath where rent supplement cut-off levels are exacerbating an already dangerous situation; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that other services of the State are in increasingly high demand as a result of persons not being able to locate suitable accommodation in their areas, in particular homelessness and emergency accommodation services; if her Department has weighed the additional cost of providing these services against the cost of loosening the rent supplement levels and if so, if she will share those data; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17731/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra15. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has received information to the effect that rent support available to applicants for local authority housing in north Kildare and surrounding area is inadequate to secure accommodation in the current competitive market; if consideration will be given to identification of a formula whereby such applicants can at least source accommodation in the short term or until the housing shortage is alleviated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17737/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra17. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection in view of the severe crisis in securing rental accommodation in the greater Dublin area if a person is in receipt of rent supplement to immediately review the amount and method of paying this allowance. [17644/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra24. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection in view of the dramatic rise in rents in urban centres, and in Dublin in particular, when she will review the caps for rent allowance; if she will meet representatives of the four Dublin local authorities and senior staff from community welfare to discuss the real impact on local authorities and the community welfare service of these rent increases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17712/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra28. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department has carried out a cost-benefit analysis of the rent allowance programme. [16752/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra40. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection in view of considerable lack of affordable private rental accommodation in Dublin due to rent increases and a decrease in rent allowance, her plans to co-ordinate a multi-pronged approach to tackle the issue of Dublin's accommodation crisis in terms of raising rent allowance or social welfare supports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17646/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 13, 15, 17, 24, 28 and 40 together.
There are currently approximately 78,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €344 million for 2014.
The supplementary welfare allowance scheme was introduced in 1977 which provided for the payment of additional supplements, including rent supplement. The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to assist with reasonable accommodation costs of eligible people living in private rented accommodation who are unable to provide for their accommodation costs from their own resources. The overall aim is to provide short term assistance, and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by the Exchequer.
The Department continues to monitor trends in the private rental market to determine the impact on rent supplement recipients and the maximum rent limits are comprehensively reviewed every 18 months. Following the most recent review of the private rental market revised maximum rent limits were introduced from Monday 17 June 2013 until 31 December 2014. The purpose of the review is to ensure availability of accommodation for rent supplement tenancies and not to provide access to all housing in all areas while ensuring maximum value for money is achieved. Despite the overall pressures on the social protection budget, there have been increases in the rent limits in Dublin, Galway, North Kildare and Bray areas.
I am aware of the difficulties facing people in sourcing accommodation and the latest Daft.ie rental report indicates that the number of advertised rental units in Dublin has declined from 6,700 in 2009 to under 1,500 at the end of 2013. This report also states that rent levels are static in areas outside Dublin, including Cork, Galway and Limerick cities. All prospective tenants, including those seeking to access rent supplement, are now finding it increasingly difficult to secure appropriate accommodation due to the reduced availability of rental properties, particularly in Dublin, which impacts across a number of State services. Increasing the maximum rent limits for rent supplement will not resolve this difficulty, due to the reduced level of supply, and would result in further increases in rental costs for all persons renting including those on reduced incomes and students. I have no plans to change the revise the maximum rent limits at this time.
Department officials administering rent supplement have considerable experience in dealing with customers of the scheme and will continue to make every effort to ensure that their accommodation needs are met and that the residence is reasonably suited to their residential needs. The fact that approximately 78,000 people are currently in receipt of rent supplement, of which almost 29,000 are in the Dublin area, 1,908 in Meath and 3,996 in Kildare of which 914 are in North Kildare, shows that a significant number of landlords are accommodating applicants of the scheme in these areas.
The provision of homeless accommodation services and associated costs is a matter for the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government. Officials in the Department’s community welfare service, including through its work in the Homeless Persons Unit (HPU) and the Asylum Seekers & New Communities Unit, work closely with local authorities and other stakeholders to facilitate homeless persons to access private rented accommodation. This ensures that where possible, people are diverted away from homeless services and towards community-based supports. Officials in the Dublin local authorities are currently engaging with the Department to develop an inter-agency intervention system to identify vulnerable households who are in receipt of rent supplement and at risk of becoming homeless due to the imminent loss of their tenancy. I am satisfied with the level of engagement in place between officials from the Department and the local authorities.
The Department’s strategic policy direction is to return rent supplement to its original purpose of a short term income support. In July 2013 the Government approved the introduction of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP). Under HAP, responsibility for recipients of rent supplement with a long-term housing need will transfer from the Department of Social Protection to local authorities. Officials in the Department are working closely with those in the lead Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, in piloting HAP in Limerick City and County Council with further roll out to selected local authorities during the year.
14. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will reverse the cuts to young persons' jobseeker's allowance in view of the EU-wide research report on the social situation of young people in Europe compiled by Eurofound and in view of the fact that overall social protection spending for the first three months of this year was significantly less than that for which it what had been allocated. [17650/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraReduced rates for younger jobseeker’s allowance recipients were first introduced in 2009. Budget 2014 further extended the reduced rates of jobseeker’s allowance to recipients under 26 years of age. This measure aims to incentivise young jobseeker’s allowance recipients to avail of education and training opportunities. If a jobseeker in receipt of the reduced jobseeker’s allowance rate participates on an education or training programme they will receive a higher weekly payment of €160.
Receiving the full adult rate of a jobseeker’s payment at a young age can lead to welfare dependency from an early age. That is why I believe that it is necessary to provide young jobseekers with a strong financial incentive to engage in education or training or to take up employment. If they do not improve their skills, it will be much more difficult for them to avail of job opportunities as the economy recovers and they are at risk of becoming long term unemployed from a young age.
The report “Social situation of young people in Europe” by Eurofound recognises the importance of enhancing the social inclusion of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs). The report found that individuals in a NEET situation are more at risk of isolation and having mental and physical health issues. The changes introduced in Budget 2014 provide an additional incentive for young jobseekers to engage in a wide range of education, training or employment programmes. This approach with the continued roll-out of the Intreo activation model in conjunction with the implementation of the Youth Guarantee will further assist young people make the transition to the labour market.
It is too early to determine what the Department’s spending will be for 2014. However, the entire allocation for jobseeker’s allowance as provided for in the revised 2014 Estimate is expected to be fully utilised this year. There are therefore no plans to change the current reduced rates for younger jobseeker’s allowance recipients.
16. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to deal with the long-term unemployed on the northside of Dublin. [17466/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn the first instance, the Government’s primary strategy to tackle long-term unemployment in the Dublin North region, as with the rest of the country, is to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity. Economic recovery will underpin jobs growth. However, the Government also recognises the need for additional measures to address long-term unemployment in the interim while the economy recovers. This is the rationale behind the Government’s Pathways to Work Strategy which is being led by my Department.
As part of the Pathways Strategy, the Dublin North Activation and Employer Engagement Strategy has been developed which adopts a multi-faceted, pro-active approach to employment support programmes in order to assist Jobseekers re-enter the workforce. There have also been a range of new initiatives undertaken across the Division, including Pathways to Employment, Education and Training Fairs, Recruitment events for individual employers and initiatives specifically aimed at tackling Youth Unemployment.
With reference to the Pathways Fairs, several hundred jobseekers are invited to the events, at which they are presented with details on the types, and the range of progression opportunities that are available, from education, training, through work-experience, internships and employment. C.V. “clinics” are also typically available on the day. Our experience is that employers are increasingly using these events as a vehicle to recruit.
Further events will be held in every Intreo Centre/Local Office area during 2014. A Youth Guarantee Showcase Event was held in Ballymun Civic Centre on 27th March 2014. A Pathways to Employment, Education and Training Fair was held in Erin’s Isle GAA club on 10 April 2014 for 1000 invited claimants from Finglas and neighbouring areas. The event, which was organised by Finglas Intreo Centre, was also attended by the Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD.
In a further initiative, breakfast briefing sessions were co-hosted with the Chamber of Commerce at which Departmental managers highlighted the advantages of recruiting from the Live Register, particularly the Long Term Unemployed, e.g. Jobsplus Scheme.
Furthermore, Employment Services in Dublin North have hosted a number of large-scale recruitment events to cater for the recruitment needs of individual employers. Two events were held in July and November 2013 for Green Shield Security Employment Services, each of which resulted in the recruitment of over 60 jobseekers.
In addition, my Department is currently in the process of evaluating tenders for JobPath, the Government’s new labour market activation service aimed specifically at the long-term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed. There will be a separate JobPath contract issued specifically for the Dublin region.
