Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

Does the Minister accept that the only way there will be a client-centred approach is through institutional reform? The emphasis should be on clients, whether they have income support needs at a particular time, education needs or employment needs. These responsibilities should not be divided between various Departments. One need only see the institutional reform that has taken place at the Department for Work and Pensions in the UK to understand that we must move in that direction.

The numbers speak for themselves as three years ago almost 10,000 people were placed in employment by FÁS, while last year that figure fell to 7,000 and that is not an adequate level of performance. The only way to tackle this problem is to bring such services within the remit of the Department of Social and Family Affairs.

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