Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are a number of reasons for that reduction. Significant savings are accruing in the area of administration and staffing costs, particularly in FÁS. Staffing numbers have reduced under the employment control framework. The figure takes account of the estimated impact of the Haddington Road agreement on future salary costs. The decision to discontinue the practice of paying the maximum level of jobseeker's allowance - €188 per week - under FÁS training schemes has produced a saving of approximately €9 million.

The Deputy may be aware that a review of our apprenticeship training delivery model is under way. The demand among employers for the training of apprentices, particularly in the construction sector, has been reducing. We used to train approximately 7,000 construction apprentices per annum, but that figure has decreased to between 600 and 700 at this point. I ask the Deputy to bear in mind that those savings have been offset to a certain extent by increased expenditure in other areas. We are spending almost €20 million on the provision of 6,500 training places under the MOMENTUM fund, for example. We are targeting the achievement of savings in specific areas as a result of administrative, staffing and other reductions. I remind the committee that 50,000 training places are being allocated uniquely and solely for the long-term unemployed this year as part of the Pathways to Work initiative. That commitment has not been made in the past.