Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I will not rise to some of the derisory comments which are personal in nature. In due course and at the next election we will deal with them.

The reality of the current global economic downturn has again been brought home to us with confirmation that the number of people now on the live register stands at just below 328,000. The rate at which this figure has increased over such a short period of time is disturbing and I assure the House that the Government is determined to do all in its power to tackle the rise in numbers of people finding themselves without work or with reduced working weeks. Our approach in tackling the issue is multi-layered and centres on restoring our public finances, protecting employment across the economy, retraining those without work, and attracting new investment and jobs to our shores.

In my contribution to last week's debate in the House, I highlighted the importance of restoring competitiveness to our economy and placed particular emphasis on addressing the issue of energy costs. In that regard I welcome the confirmation from my colleague, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, yesterday that he has asked the Commission for Energy Regulation for an immediate review of energy pricing and an analysis of options for bringing down electricity and gas prices for householders and businesses. Such action sends out a clear signal that in Government we are addressing issues of real concern to employers who need to get costs down in order to compete effectively in the global marketplace, resulting in more jobs being protected across our economy. It is one example of the many steps we are in the process of taking to best protect the long-term sustainability of our economy.

One other such step was yesterday's announcement by the Taoiseach aimed at stabilising our public finances and reducing Government spending. The decisions taken were not easy but they are an example of the tough decisions that have to be made to bring the economy back on track. In doing so, however, I want to assure the House that we will continue to target expenditure and tax measures at those most able to bear the cost, and that we will continue to support those who are most vulnerable in our society.

In the time available to me this afternoon, I want to concentrate on some of the steps we are taking to ensure that those without a job can get reskilled and back in to the jobs market with the skills necessary for the jobs that our economy will create over the coming months and years. I want to focus specifically on our reactivation efforts.

The Department of Social and Family Affairs and FÁS are working closely to respond quickly to the rise in unemployment. In particular, FÁS employment services, together with local employment services, are putting in place measures designed to provide increased capacity for the rise in referrals from the Department of Social and Family Affairs and the increased number of unemployed seeking job search assistance voluntarily. The implementation of these measures has increased capacity from 6,500 per month to 12,250 per month.

The Government is also working to significantly improve access for unemployed persons to maximise opportunities for upskilling and reskilling so that people will be better placed to avail of new job opportunities when they become available. A number of programmes are already in place and it is intended to expand greatly the frequency and range of these programmes over the coming months.

I recently announced the availability of 51,000 new training places under the FÁS training initiatives strategy. These places are in addition to the 27,000 previously planned for 2009 under the bridging foundation training, specific skills training and traineeships programmes. The strategy enhances the traditional mix of course offerings and will be delivered through three core training initiatives of short courses, night courses and on-line courses.

The courses are for highly employable people who wish to add to their existing skill level and improve their prospects of re-entering the labour market. The night courses offer further flexibilities and the on-line courses provide an excellent option for those who need a fast and flexible intervention and who prefer a self-directed e-learning and blended learning environment.

There has been a significant downturn in construction-related activity since the beginning of 2008. As a result, there has been a major increase of the number of people within that sector who are out of work. There has also been an increase in the number of apprentices being made redundant.

In addition to the usual resources it provides to redundant workers, FÁS has established a training fund to enable it to provide a timely response to identifying training and retraining needs for low skilled and redundant craft workers from the construction sector. It is intended that this will enable individuals to secure a speedy return to work or, where this cannot be achieved, to provide relevant upskilling opportunities in order that jobseekers can obtain employment in alternative sectors. FÁS is also focusing on providing retraining opportunities for redundant construction workers in emerging areas such as the installation of energy-efficient and renewable technologies, environmental activity and compliance and regulatory work.

With regard to redundant apprentices, my Department and FÁS have put in place a series of actions to facilitate the completion of their studies. These include redundant apprentices being allowed to progress to their next off-the-job phase of training without being obliged to complete the next on-the-job phase. A register of redundant apprentices has been established by FÁS and the institutes of technology in order to identify these people at the earliest possible opportunity. FÁS has prioritised the need to locate an employer to sponsor the completion of apprentices' off-the-job training.

Last year I announced the launch of FÁS's employer-based redundant apprentice rotation scheme. The scheme, which will operate for this year, aims to provide up to 500 redundant apprentices with on-the-job training with certain approved employers on a rotation basis. The Government and the key organisations with responsibility for apprentices will continue to consider new initiatives to assist redundant apprentices in gaining the necessary on-the-job experience to progress and complete their apprenticeships.

All existing full-time further and higher education places in September 2009 will continue to be open to applications from unemployed persons. In addition, applications will be encouraged for courses in institutes of technology that have vacant places. The Minister for Education and Science, his Department and the education sector are working to develop schemes to assist those who are unemployed and who wish to return to education.

Further assistance for those who have become distanced from the labour market for some time and who are seeking to re-enter it is provided via community employment, CE, schemes. CE is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a fixed-term basis. The programme helps unemployed people to progress to the open labour market by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to work routine and assists them in developing both their technical and personal skills. Funding for CE this year will enable the scheme to be operated on a flexible basis to maximise progression to the labour market through on-the-job training as well as maintain the support of community services. Funding for services provided by FÁS to people with disabilities will allow the continuation of specific employment and training programmes targeted at such individuals.

While a significant amount of work has been done in a short period, the Government and I are intent on achieving greater capacity within existing resources. In that context, I will be bringing forward further measures to make training and education services available to a greater number of unemployed persons during the coming weeks and months.

In addition to the activation measures that I have outlined, the Government's focus will also be on supporting the growth of Irish companies with the ambition, leadership and innovation to succeed in creating and sustaining employment. The environment is challenging but like its workforce, Ireland's enterprises are resilient and adaptable. I am confident that they can rise to the challenge.

These are difficult times but by working together I am certain that we can return to an Ireland of economic growth and prosperity. The measures set out by the Government provide the right mix of policies to stabilise the economy, to protect those in our society who are the most vulnerable and need our help the most, to foster the right conditions to generate new and sustainable jobs and, ultimately, to advance the standard of living of our citizens and maintain the social and economic advantages that have been acquired for this country during the past decade.

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