Ulick Burke (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I welcome some aspects of this Bill, but other aspects add to the confusion that exists about the Government's intentions with regard to FÁS. Instead of having one Minister with responsibility for FÁS, as was the case heretofore, there are now two. Responsibility for employment and community service schemes has been transferred to the Minister for Social Protection, while responsibility for training remains with the Minister for Education and Skills. All of this has come about because of a total failure on the part of FÁS, and the Minister with responsibility for FÁS, to keep control of the agency. What happened at the top management of FÁS was unacceptable and it was due to the failure of a Minister to take control.

It must be said that the people who delivered the services at FÁS, particularly employment and community services, have done good work throughout the country. During the times when employment was low, FÁS carried out valuable work. Many people who were involved in schemes during that time received good training and moved on to become self-employed, which was the original intention in the establishment of FÁS. However, many of those who were paid to provide training failed to deliver adequate and proper training to those who had, in good faith, agreed to be trained. This was especially the case in the north east where, as has been highlighted in the House numerous times, there was a complete failure on the part of the contractors that were engaged, probably without any supervision, by the Department or the FÁS management. FÁS has done valuable environmental work throughout the country and it would be remiss of anybody to ignore this.

It is unbelievable that a Minister for Social Protection who prided himself on the fact that he was engaged in an all-out war on social welfare fraud can stand over one provision in the Bill, under which people can register their unemployment electronically. The Minister stated that this would happen in the future, but therein lies a quagmire in the regulation of those receiving unemployment benefit. It is a retrograde step. We are talking about people familiarising themselves with voice mail and so on. We should consider the social welfare fraud that has taken place between Northern Ireland and the South. People presented themselves at social welfare offices, which was an important statement that they were actively seeking work and that they were currently unemployed. This provision is farcical. The Minister who was trying to eliminate fraud is now providing an opportunity to expand and perpetuate it.

I welcome one aspect of the Bill in particular. The landlords of tenants who are receiving rent supplement must now provide their PPS numbers for the purposes of regulation. This would regulate the system such that where the State is paying a sum of money to provide assistance towards rent for applicants, at least we could be sure the people are not avoiding tax. I trust this will be introduced quickly.

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