Dr. Dermot Coates:

I thank Deputy Stanton. When I referred to the support package in May, one of the key issues that arose as part of the considerations was, as the Deputy rightly pointed out, that the National Training Fund had accumulated a surplus of €2 billion and quite a number of firms, particularly in the SME sector, were making contributions and did not believe their value was flowing back to them. The commitment given at the time was that a new mechanism for enabling the distribution of the funds and being more proactive in running down the surplus would be introduced. That work is being led by the Minister for further and higher education and we expect an announcement in this space in the next couple of weeks. It is something that is being tackled with a view to its being resolved to ensure we draw down the surplus and make the funds available so they are felt through supports for employers, further education and training systems and such measures.