Pathways to work Seanad Eireann

I welcome the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton. In the Taoiseach’s address at the recent IBEC president’s dinner he stated: “When this Government came into office we declared that we could no longer tolerate a passive welfare system that abandoned hundreds of thousands of people to unemployment without any real support or engagement.” The Government has been proactive in addressing this issue by introducing the Pathways to Work strategy. I compliment all Departments on their commitment in tackling the issue head-on. Long-term unemployment is a cancer in our society. It is demoralising and the psychological implications can lead to the loss of friends, confidence, isolation and depression. Skills previously acquired become obsolete, which, in turn, decreases the chances of gaining meaningful employment. Long-term unemployment also increases the economic burden on the State in the form of higher social welfare payments which lead to increased Government borrowing and less tax revenue.

The Pathways to Work strategy seeks to address some of these issues by putting in place a strategy not only to assist the long-term unemployed but also to support the betterment of society as a whole. The 50 point action plan involves all of the relevant stakeholders from Departments and State agencies working together. The plan contains ten key performance indicators, the first of which is completion of personal profiles of all 422,900 people on the live register in order that personalised employment supports can be developed for them. The second involves initial one-to-one guidance interviews with job seekers, with 185,000 such interviews to be carried out this year. The availability of profiling of individuals is crucial to the success of the strategy. This includes the length of time an individual has been unemployed, the implications of long-term unemployment and the individual’s ability to engage with employment services and possible employers. To this end, I hope profiles will include self-development support and training for individuals before they enter any level of employment. It is imperative that any psychological need they may have is addressed, including confidence building. Many who have been out of work find it difficult to re-enter the workforce without adequate holistic supports. These interviews should not be about ticking the right boxes to create favourable statistics. They should be aimed at developing genuine understanding of a person’s situation and his or her needs in returning to the workforce after a long period of unemployment. Will adequate upskilling, self-development and confidence building programmes be made available to them before they are expected to engage in interviews or re-enter the workforce?

The provision of a one-stop-shop of service supports is welcome as a means of creating a more streamlined approach to the service and support systems needed by the long-term unemployed. It is the intention to roll out all of the Intreo offices by the end of the year. The Pathways to Work strategy will not be implemented properly until all of the support mechanisms are in place throughout the country to meet the needs of those who require support. I urge the Minister to progress the delivery of the Intreo network in order that all of the services can be delivered effectively and in a timely manner. The pace of roll-out of these office is slower than promised. Is there any way Senators might help the Minister to expedite delivery of this vital cornerstone of the Government’s jobs agenda?

An interim report recently produced by Indecon found that 52% of almost 3,000 JobBridge participants had been in paid employment since completing their internships.