Sinn Féin chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee Brian Stanley has said that the committee’s report on JobPath proves that privatisation of community employment services undermines their quality.

The all-party report concludes that the JobPath model has failed to deliver sustainable, quality employment for jobseekers and has not delivered value for money for the taxpayer.

Speaking today, Teachta Stanley said:

“It is clear that the decision by Fine Gael and Labour to privatise local employment services through JobPath has been a disaster. This approach has only served to hollow out services and undermines the quality of supports for people who need the services.

“The Public Accounts Committee’s report is very clear on the poor record of JobPath. 283,826 people used the service, with only 22,000 securing a sustainable job. That is a success rate of just 7.7%. In total, €247m was spent on JobPath, which means each job sourced cost the state €11,227.

“Beyond the numbers, we also must not forget the human impact of people feeling forced to take up jobs in sectors that were totally unsuitable for them, just to meet the JobPath system’s requirements.

“We must learn from the failure of JobPath and ensure that future attempts to privatise our community employment services do not go ahead. Our communities deserve better than these flawed, box ticking exercises. Lessons must be learnt from this disastrous scheme.”