Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:186. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform for an update on the work of the social clauses project group. [44020/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 8 December 2015
Ceisteanna (186, 188)
Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:188. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the date on which the Office of Government Procurement will report on the implementation of social clauses, as committed to by him on establishing the social clauses project group. [44022/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 186 and 188 together.
The Government sees significant merit in developing a targeted community clause framework. To this end I established a Social Clauses Project Group in 2014, led by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) to proactively look at public contracts where social clauses could be deployed to contribute to employment or training opportunities for long term unemployed. The objectives of this project group are:
- the identification of suitable policy priorities to be addressed through the insertion of social clauses in public contracts;
- the provision of guidance in relation to suitable candidate project types and spend areas;
- identification of suitable contract clauses developed in conjunction with the Chief State Solicitor's Office; and,
- the design of a monitoring and reporting framework which can be applied to future projects where social clauses are to be used.
It is important to adopt a targeted approach to the use of community benefit clauses on contracts where employers are likely to be hiring additional workers to deliver the contract. This is likely to mitigate the risk of displacing workers already in employment while offering the opportunity of assisting with labour activation measures for the long-term unemployed.
Two examples of this approach currently in progress are the Grangegorman Development and Devolved Schools Build Programme. In relation to the latter, a clause has been included in the Public Works contracts which require that
- 10% of the aggregate time worked on site to have been undertaken by individuals who have been registered on a national unemployment register within the EU for a continuous period of at least 12 months immediately prior to their employment on the project.
- 2.5% of the aggregate time worked on site to have been undertaken by individuals who are employed under a registered scheme of apprenticeship or other similar national, accredited training or educational work placement arrangement.
Experience of this pilot have been positive. It is important to learn from such practical experience of where community benefit clauses are utilised. This is a complex area. It is important to develop a robust structure that will assist the contracting authority to develop the correct clause and to provide the support from the appropriate agency to aid the company in implementing the clause. I have instructed the OGP to report on this issue and to issue practical guidance designed to assist Contracting Authorities to carry out this important role in a consistent manner. I expect both the report and guidance to issue shortly.