Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

Was the Minister of State as shocked as I was by the statistics in the study which indicate that half of the 380,000 early school leavers are neither employed nor looking for work at a time when we have to get workers from far corners of the world? This huge challenge should be met within our system. Sustaining Progress commits to the establishment of a workplace basic education strategy. One of the proposals in that agreement is to establish a basic education fund, which in effect would offer workers the opportunity for education at work. The FÁS study shows that well educated workers are more likely to receive training and education than those who have dropped out of school at an early age. Will the basic education fund be established?

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