Carol Nolan challenges JobPath, raises carers and CE scheme concerns

Minister, I'd like to start by wishing you every success and bewaatlan bwikasag of all that. I also want to acknowledge the hard-working staff in the department who managed to process thousands and thousands of applications in a very short space of time and their work needs to be acknowledged here as well. On the issue, Minister, around carers, I know I did raise the issue very recently in respect to carers who sought access to the pandemic unemployment payment and I'm glad to see that a family carer who works less than 18.5 hours per week but who loses their job is now entitled to receive the COVID-19 payment and keep their carers allowance. I do welcome that. On a separate matter, Minister, I want to raise the issue of employment activation measures and I have raised it in the last DAL term a number of times. As we know, there has been serious disagreement in this House between the Government and Opposition about the effectiveness and value for money of the existing job path programmes, especially the role of Tara Snua and CTEK. We know from the latest data, for example, that 226,851 people referred to the job path service but only 14,617 of them held down a job for over a year. The latest figures also show that in the four years that the scheme has been operational, the Government has spent over £182 million on it. The two private companies, Tara Snua and CTEK, have received £75.7 million and £73.3 million respectively. I recently placed a PQ on this very matter and the reply indicated that the Department is currently reviewing all contracted public employment services. This review has been undertaken with the aim of designing and introducing a comprehensive model that is fit for purpose for the Irish labour market from 2021 onwards. So are we to take it then that referrals to Tara Snua will continue for the rest of this year, Minister? I have to say that it is my sincere hope that a different and more client-friendly approach is rolled out going forward. The number and character of the complaints around the nature of the service provided by Tara Snua are too consistent in the sense that those who have been made to attend regularly feel belittled or patronised by the service. And I know I received a huge volume of complaints into my offices over the last while on this issue. On a completely different issue that concerns CE schemes, Minister, I would just like to ask about the report on the future of CE schemes. It is my understanding that the report has been published, but when will it be made available? I recently met a group of CE scheme supervisors and that question was asked. In addition to that, I would just like to ask about the pension scheme for CE supervisors as per the Labour Court ruling. I know, I am sure you have heard this over and over, but I am going to reiterate it because it is of serious concern to the supervisors. And I would just like some clarity on that as well. Of course, Carers were always entitled to the PUP payment. We made sure that that was absolutely anybody that was working the 18 and a half hours or less that lost their income was as entitled as anybody else to apply. The activation members, jobs that we have over the next couple of months, I probably won't be the person that makes the policy with regard to how we activate the people that are not going to go back to work. The only thing I will give you is hopefully some solace in when I say this, is that JobsPath only looks after people who are longer than 12 months on the live register. We would obviously hope that anybody that has lost their job or will lose their job in the next couple of weeks, we will retrain them and rework with them far, far faster than 12 months. But obviously, any of those conditions or decisions will be made during the formation of the next government and it will be included in the programme for government, but it does not include me. The report is published. I am surprised that people have not got a copy of it. I will make sure you get one today. And again, it is just over a year since I first met the CEO supervisors with an attempt to try and fix that issue. I was not, unfortunately, successful, but I very much hope that whoever is lucky enough to be in my position in the next government will be successful and give them what they deserve. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. The scheme was set up for income lost, not foregone income, and it would be incredibly difficult to try and figure out who was going to get a job and who wasn't going to get a job. But that is not to say that the Social Welfare Code does not look after those people. They are all entitled to apply for jobseeker's benefit or jobseeker's allowance. Congresswoman Minister. Congresswoman Minister.