Dr. Dermot Coates:

Yes, it is used at the moment to support a variety of mechanisms for job training and job-release-type exercises. I will not profess to be an expert on the National Training Fund and all its complexities. The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council published a report only a few weeks ago and once again articulated the same point the Deputy has made, which is that while there is a need to charge employers and accumulate the fund, there is a need to access and activate it in the best way to support employers paying into it and the employees on whose behalf they are paying.