IMPACT has written to social protection minister Leo Varadkar seeking a meeting to discuss his plans to replace the JobBridge scheme. The union welcomed the minister’s announcement that JobBridge will go, but wants to share its proposals for alternatives that are fair and relevant to current labour market conditions.

The union had previously called for the programme to be dissolved and replaced with targeted initiatives aimed at specific groups including early school leavers, graduates, and the long-term unemployed. It also called for internships to be better regulated and monitored.

In a statement last month, the union’s deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan said there had been many reports of the improper use of JobBridge, including in the health, local government and education sectors.

“Many of those who welcomed the scheme in 2011 have been troubled by the recurring reports of abuse and exploitation, which have dogged its reputation and greatly undermined its many positive outcomes. While the scheme undoubtedly served a useful purpose when youth unemployment and emigration was rocketing at the height of the economic crash, it’s now time to move on,” he said.

IMPACT commissioned a study of JobBridge in 2015, which was carried out by Dr Mary Murphy of NUI Maynooth. The report acknowledged the contribution that JobBridge made to labour market activation in the years following the crisis, but raised concerns about the misuse of the programme, and identified the need for better monitoring and regulation of internships.

The report recommended that:

• Interns should be adequately compensated at the trainee rate of the minimum wage as a stepping stone to decent paid employment
• The number of active labour market internships should be proportionate to, and no more than, 5% of total active labour market interventions
• Internships should not be allowed in the public sector until there is full staffing and the recruitment moratorium is lifted
• The duration of state-funded internships should be regulated on a case by case basis through Intreo, LES or JobsPlus case workers, with longer internships offering possibility of progression
• Access to internship schemes be facilitated through regional internship strategy similar to that of Action Plan for Jobs and include working age claimants beyond the live register.