Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)

In June 2010 the former Government applied for €41 million from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund in order to provide tailored retraining for 9,000 named construction workers who were made redundant between June 2009 and March 2010. Moneys from this fund must be used within 24 months of the initial application. In other member states it is standard practice that national funds are used in advance to provide early intervention for workers and to ensure spending targets are met.

According to the European Commission, €35 million has been approved to provide support for 5,987 redundant construction workers. However, final approval is not likely until the end of the year, leaving just six months before all moneys must be spent. I have been reliably informed that a significant portion of this funding is now in jeopardy as a result of mismanagement of the programme. Only those redundant workers named in the application can avail of the funding, yet I am told that very few, if any at all, of the named individuals were contacted and that it is not now known whether they are still in the country, have emigrated in search of work or are in work. Will the Minister indicate whether this is the case? I am told that none of these individuals has had his or her training needs assessed beyond the basic assessment provided by FÁS for all redundant workers, even though a more detailed assessment is required for the specific forms of support provided under the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund. Will the Minister clarify this?

Earlier this month the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills, Deputy Ciarán Cannon, stated that at least €22 million of the total value of the programme has already been invested in training supports delivered by FÁS. Was this sum used to provide additional tailored training over and above the existing FÁS training for the 5,987 individuals named in the globalisation fund application, or was it part of the ordinary spend by FÁS on training that would have been provided in any case had the globalisation funding not been sought?

Concerns have also been raised with me regarding the time period used in determining eligibility for inclusion in the scheme. With more than 140,000 construction workers made redundant in recent years, why was the application restricted only to those who lost their jobs between July 2009 and March 2010? Why has no application been made for other sectors affected by the recession, such as the retail and financial sectors, given that this fund has an annual budget of some €500 million, 80% of which remains untouched in any given year?

While numerous issues require to be clarified in regard to this matter, the central issue of concern is the possible loss of a large portion of the €35 million in European funds for retraining of redundant workers. Will the Minister confirm whether there is any risk of this money being lost and, if so, what he and his officials are doing to prevent such an occurrence?

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