County councillor Liam Doherty has reacted with disappointment to the decision by Government this week to continue to support its controversial job activation scheme, JobPath.
His comments come after the Government refused to support a Sinn Féin motion in the Dáil this week calling for an end to new referrals to the programme.
He said the programme continues to be delivered by private companies and forces job seekers to participate, often with little consideration given to the types of roles they are given.
Cllr Doherty said “It is hugely disappointing, but not at all surprising that Fine Gael has chosen to stand by the JobPath scheme despite ample evidence against the private firms that operate it being repeatedly brought to their attention.
“These companies have received millions in taxpayers’ money to date, yet government is failing to adequately fund other jobs programmes which have a track record of supporting projects that, in the past, have really benefited local communities, such as Community Employment (CE) Schemes.
“Here in Donegal between 2012 and 2016, there was an almost 18 per cent reduction in the number of projects supported through the Community Employment Scheme, having lost 11 projects over that five year period.
“Worryingly, I’ve heard from countless constituents speak of the indignity of being made feel simply like “simply another number” by JobPath because participation is mandatory and it’s been claimed that little or no consideration is ever given to needs or to the unique and valuable skills and experience individual jobseekers can offer and bring to the workplace.
“Sinn Féin’s motion this week sought the end of the mandatory nature of JobPath and for no further referrals to be made to the scheme however, government has ignored our calls and instead opted to continue its support for a scheme that seeks to make money for private enterprise while failing job seekers.”
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