Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

This initiative was announced in last December's budget and further moneys became available during the course of the year. Given the serious unemployment situation, providers throughout the State were called upon to rally to the cause and to come up with proposals at short notice. Private providers are providing 21 projects, the VECs are providing 13, the third level sector is providing 19, and the community and voluntary sector is providing six. Should it emerge in the coming weeks that certain programmes or courses are undersubscribed or are experiencing difficulties, my Department will work closely with the providers concerned to ensure they are afforded the greatest possible latitude in order to maximise participation rates and ensure participants who have already signed up can be facilitated.

I welcome the information the Deputy has given. This is a learning process for us in many respects and the programme will be thoroughly reviewed in the context of ensuring further provision. However, if there are cases such as the Deputy referred to in Carlow and elsewhere, my Department will liaise with the providers in question to see what can be done.

See this speech in context