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Employment Schemes

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 July 2022

Thursday, 14 July 2022

Ceisteanna (147)

Richard Boyd Barrett

Ceist:

147. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the details of her plans to provide alternative employment for the current providers of local employment services who have or may lose their positions as a result of the current tendering out process by her Department for such services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38607/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

My Department has, since 2019, been developing a new model of externally provided public employment services. This is a legal requirement to ensure such services are procured through a competitive open procurement process.Since the beginning of this process in 2019, my Department has engaged extensively with existing providers and representative bodies, including the Irish Local Development Network and trade unions. In particular, my Department has gone to great efforts to ensure that existing providers are in a position to compete for the provision of these new employment services.This involved a two phased approach. First, running a limited competition in four geographic areas which did not already have local employment services and then, using the learnings from this process, to fine-tune the request for tenders in phase 2. Taking these learnings on board, phase 2 included an increased number of lots, a greater emphasis on community linkages and, most importantly, a substantially increased minimum level of referrals for each lot. These increased referrals mean that the annual income under the new model should exceed the existing cost base of LES and Job Clubs operating in each Lot.Therefore, any existing provider who has successfully bid for a service should at least match and in many cases exceed their current income. On this basis the need for redundancies in these circumstance is unclear. However, subject to meeting the requirements of the contracted service in terms of staffing commitments and ratios of case officers to customers, the final staffing of the service is a matter for the successful bidder.

The preferred bidders for the new Intreo Partners Local Area Employment Services have just been notified. The next step is the finalising of contracts and the commencement of referrals to the new service. Pending this, my Department has extended the contracts of most LES and Job Clubs until the end of August. However, a small number of providers have declined the extension offer, which is at their discretion and they will have communicated their decision and rationale to their staff.In circumstances where existing providers chose not to bid for the new services or were unsuccessful then I would expect that, as a first option, providers should look to redeploy any staff affected to other functions within their organisations. However, where this is not possible, and if these employers are unable to finance redundancy payments, then my Department's Redundancy and Insolvency service will, in accordance with relevant legislation, be able to make provision for statutory redundancy payments for any affected staff.

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