Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

Regarding the Deputy's last point, I do not appear to have the date in the notes before me. In fairness to people in both Departments, FÁS has transformed itself dramatically in the past ten years. I find myself involved with FÁS a lot, particularly in the south-east region and I have met many of the people involved. The Irish economy faces competition when it comes to job creation from other economies, such as the Asian economy, specifically China, and low-wage economies, and this challenges us to examine the remit of both organisations in terms of the type of training provided. It is important to marry the type of training available to the jobs that will be available in the marketplace and this will form part of the review.

I understand the Deputy's point regarding income supports and employment supports provided by my Department — the system has been separated in Ireland but my mind is not closed to putting them together. The Department of Social and Family Affairs is focused on providing income supports in many areas. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, with its agencies, such as FÁS, is the driver when it comes to providing employment. Merging the two issues would require a huge policy shift, which would be a substantial undertaking. I have no plans to do this at the moment but I would consider it if evidence from international sources suggested it could be of significant benefit.

The heart of the Deputy's point relates to getting the best from resources coming from my Department and the agencies that can help deliver results. I would have thought this depends on good, close working relationships, regardless of the name over the door.

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