Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 April 2021
678. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a schedule of proposed changes to the delivery of public employment services; her plans to retain the personal service that is customer focused and meets the needs and ambitions of the client; the reason the changes have been proposed; the business case for the proposals; and if her attention has been drawn to correspondence (details supplied). [22168/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs part of the July jobs stimulus, the Government committed to increase the capacity of all elements of the Public Employment Service.
My Department therefore shortly intends to issue a Request for Tender (RFT) to expand local employment type services into four geographical areas where a Local Employment Service does not currently exist. The specific lots will be detailed in the request for tender, which will be published shortly.
The forthcoming RFT will place due emphasis on the quality of services to be provided, while expanding the capacity of the Public Employment Service (PES). Tenders will be assessed based primarily on the quality of their respective proposals. This initial competitive procurement process, required to comply with EU procurement rules, will have no impact on the contracts of existing providers in other areas and it is expected that local community and voluntary organisations will be in a strong position to respond to the RFT.
In relation to the specific issues raised, in practice the annual "cost met" funding approach requires a level of scrutiny of day-to-day expenditure, which places an undue administrative burden on both the employment service provider and my Department. Such an approach diverts valuable resources away from supporting clients and as such does nothing to enhance employment outcomes for the long-term unemployed. Moving to a multiannual funding approach, which pays for each jobseeker referred to the service, with a guarantee on the minimum number of referrals and with a strong emphasis on quality of service provision, is more likely to deliver enhanced outcomes for those availing of the service.
Separately, the current contracts for all contracted PES provision expire at the end of 2021. My Department, in light of the significant challenge facing the Public Employment Service, is therefore preparing to procure, in a manner that is compatible with procurement law, sufficient high-quality capacity to meet expected demand for employment services.
Organisations with strong experience in the delivery of similar services at a community and local level will be in a strong position to respond to the RFTs when they issue.
