Government has questions to answer over recruitment website – Collins

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Jobs Niall Collins TD says the Government needs to explain what went wrong leading up to the rollout of the State’s job-matching service, JobsIreland.ie.

The Government awarded a €3.4m contract to two companies in 2015 to overhaul the website. The unveiling of the new website was submerged in controversy in 2016 after its launch date was delayed due to technical issues and employers were forced to re-register for the service.

Deputy Collins said, “JobsIreland.ie has been shrouded in controversy since it’s relaunch in 2016. The initial launch was delayed which led to a loss of service for a number of days and serious issues with the site were only identified once it went live. For example, employers were forced to re-register to use the website which was not flagged with them in advance. Jobseekers also reported serious problems in navigating the site and highlighted slow connection speeds which made it difficult for them to use the service.

“The Department of Social Protection has now admitted that it received over 200 complaints on a weekly basis in 2016 in relation to the site. This clearly demonstrates that the site wasn’t fit for purpose when it was launched. Accordingly, serious questions have to be answered by the Government regarding the handling of the tender process for this website. It’s difficult to justify the €3.4m contract for this website considering the enormous difficulties it has encountered. We need to investigate whether the project represents value for money.

“Ministers Fitzgerald and Doherty need to launch an investigation into this matter; people need clarity over the handling of the tender process for this website.”