Will the Minister clarify again that the list submitted to the Jobsearch interviewers is submitted by the employment exchanges managers? Some of these managers are in a position to remove applicants from the unemployment assistance register if they do not turn up for the first or second time for interview. What is the exact position in relation to those applicants? Are they removed from the unemployment assistance register, or has any directive been issued by the Department to the managers of the exchanges to that effect?

The Manpower office forward the name with a report of the position. That does not automatically exclude these people from the live register. It is a question for the Department of Social Welfare to make a decision on that. From the monitoring I have been doing it appears different decisions have been made. Obviously flexibility is being used by social welfare officers.

I call Deputy Colley for a final supplementary.

So it is the employment exchange manager's decision in that instance?

It is. The role of the NMS it so forward the report. They have not that power.

To remove people from the list?

No.