The Department of Social Protection has removed all ads for school cleaners and caretakers from the JobBridge register.

A spokesperson told RTÉ News the Department was concerned that the use of JobBridge for such posts was effectively displacing real jobs.

The move comes after RTÉ News highlighted over the past two days a number of cleaner and caretaker positions advertised on behalf of schools on the JobBridge website.

JobBridge is a scheme aimed at giving unemployed people experience of work.

The placements are typically 9 months long - almost the length of the school year.

Participants get €50 per week on top of their social welfare payments, but the posts are not supposed to displace real jobs.

On Thursday RTÉ highlighted the case of a Dublin school advertising for a cleaner on JobBridge.

The ad said the applicant would gain experience in "cleaning a school" and must be "hardworking".

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton responded by saying she did not think this was the "best use" of the scheme, and this ad was removed.

However RTÉ has highlighted other postings for cleaners and caretakers in schools that remained on the JobBridge site.

Yesterday evening the Department of Social Protection told RTÉ they had removed all of these ads, because of their concern that job displacement was effectively taking place.

However around 100 other JobBridge post in schools continue to be advertised on JobBridge, almost half for Special Needs Assistants.

Last year there were 188 people working as 'Classroom Assistants' in schools through JobBridge.

This year the Department of Social Protection has stopped posting internships in this category.

In a note on its website it says that since no such grade or job exists in the Irish education system it can not in good faith allow internships under this heading.

It said JobBridge placements were designed to provide real world experience.

However one school is currently advertising on the JobBridge site for a "Cúntoir Ranga", Cúntoir Ranga is Irish for Classroom Assistant.

Several other schools are advertising for 'School Assistants'.

This too is a position that does not exist in the Irish education system.

One school says the successful School Assistant applicant will learn how to provide assistance to a teacher in a busy infant class.

Childcare is another area where JobBridge is proving popular, and there are currently 55 live postings on JobBridge looking for 71 childcare workers.

Most of these are on behalf of creches, but some are from schools.

One states the applicant will gain practical experience in running a classroom.

Another is for a Primary school autism unit, while one creche in Athy, Co Kildare is looking for 4 childcare workers through JobBridge.