Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The National Training Fund, NTF, does not form part of the Vote of the Department of Education and Skills. The allocation for each scheme is determined as part of the annual Estimates process. The NTF is included as an annexe to the published Estimates of the Department and such funding has been included in the overall expenditure ceiling for the Department of Education and Skills since 2011. This means that overall expenditure from the fund cannot be increased even where receipts increase, without a corresponding drop in voted expenditure. The surplus remains available for investment in education and training programmes to meet skill needs. Prior to 2012, income from the National Training Fund levy had fallen from a high of €413 million in 2008 to €299 million. However, since 2012, receipts from the NTF levy have increased annually due to improved employment levels. The accumulated surplus in the fund has been critical in maintaining expenditure levels, particularly in the provision of training for the unemployed in a period when receipts were falling. It is considered prudent to continue to maintain an adequate surplus in the fund to meet demand in future years and while the surplus represents a very significant sum, it would only cover seven months NTF expenditure at current levels. The surplus remains available for investment in education and training programmes to meet skill needs.

I alluded earlier to the reform of the National Training Fund. I mention also the independent report. The Government announced increases in the NTF levy by 0.1% in 2018 to 0.8% and by a further 0.1% in both 2019 and 2020 in order to fund investment in education and training relevant to the skills needs of the economy. The Government is committee to reform of the fund to ensure that it continues to be responsive to the world of work.

The Acting Chairman mentioned the payment of €10 million to national children's hospital. A historic commitment of €17 million to education in the national children's hospital has been made. To meet the needs of the overspend, this year we have decided to allocate €10 million from that €17 million towards that shortfall. Effectively, what it means is that when the hospital development gets to the stage of building the infrastructure around that training service provision, only €7 million will be needed, so it is a front-loading. It will also ensure we keep to the historic commitment we made.