Academics from the Waterford Institute of Technology say JobPath users they interviewed described feeling they were in a system which actively patronised, cajoled, threatened, manipulated and bullied them.

Dr Ray Griffin and Dr Tom Boland told an Oireachtas Committee that the employment activation service should be discontinued immediately.

They interviewed 121 unemployed people over the past seven years as part of their research group.

The WIT academics said they reported they were forced to undertake coaching and training delivered by unqualified and inexperienced trainers, and had been intimidated over technical or minor infractions of rules.

They have called for widespread reform of a key Government back-to-work programme for the long-term unemployed, following allegations of bullying, intimidation and threats of sanctions over jobless people.

In one instance, it is alleged a Traveller man who was enrolled on a back to work programme with the service called JobPath had his CV amended to conceal his ethnicity.

Many identified this service as the State deliberately attempting to lower their expectations of work, firstly in terms of their reservation wage, but also interfering in their family and caring responsibilities.