Independent TD for Laois Offaly, Carol Nolan, has renewed her call to the Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys, to provide a firm commitment that she will not progress with plans which would result in the loss of community employment services for the disabled.
Speaking after she met with representatives from EmployAbility Service Midlands, Deputy Nolan said that the midlands organisation is “deeply concerned about the proposals.”
The main worry is that these proposals could force EmployAbility into competitive tendering processes with private sector employment agencies.
EmployAbility Service Midlands is a community based professional employment service, specialising in the placement of people with disabilities into paid work.
“The proposals, if carried through, would result in the loss of a valuable person-centred services to unemployed disabled people.
“For that reason alone they cannot and should not proceed,” said Deputy Nolan.
“Time and time again we see that when employment services are privatised the costs escalate and the level of service deteriorates abysmally.”
“This has been the consistent experience with the likes of Turas Nua and Seetec who deliver the Jobpath programme, at a cost of €247.9 million from 2015 to 2021,” Deputy Nolan continued.
“Those costs and those losses in terms of personal engagement and care for the person will be disastrous if they are replicated right across the board for local employment services.”
“The Minister must pause the process, re-engage with the community service providers and chart a pathway toward maintaining a more humane and person-centred approach for disabled people and their advocates such as those in EmployAbility Service Midlands,” Deputy Nolan concluded.
Trade Unions such as SIPTU have also strongly opposed the proposals.
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