Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

There is much urgency in this. At the time these problems arose, the Tánaiste requested the Comptroller and Auditor General to go in and do an evaluation. As the Committee of Public Accounts had initiated hearings and discussions, the Comptroller and Auditor General indicated, out of respect for that committee, that he would await its report on FÁS. The Comptroller and Auditor General is in there now. It is a constitutional position and we should afford him the time to investigate and compile a report. When that report is completed, we will have a full discussion on it.

A new CEO will be appointed to FÁS in the very near future. We are very conscious of what is happening. There is a simplistic debate about FÁS and its budget of more than €1 billion. Much of that budget is used as a paymaster budget for allowances, training programmes and so on. It is not a €1 billion budget that is spent on training courses; it is also spent on the allowances for the trainees on those courses. More than 2,200 staff are employed by FÁS and they provide frontline services to the unemployed and in re-training. The idea that €1 billion is being sloshed around the place is factually incorrect, and the Deputy knows that as well as I do. We all accept that FÁS must rise to the challenge, and it is doing that. However, the idea that €1 billion is being spent on training is not correct. It is being spent on the people who are participating in the training programmes.

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