Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The Minister just about squeezed in the last little bit when she mentioned private contractors doing some of the work. Could she give us a little more detail on what is intended by this? Given the importance of addressing unemployment, is there not a case to be made for partly lifting the recruitment embargo in this area?

The Minister stated approximately 9,000 people are to leave the public service this year. Approximately 4,000 are to be re-employed. Some are teachers and some are in the health area. There is definitely a case for helping people to return to work. This could comprise one of the most productive areas.

The Minister stated four offices are to be up and running in May and June. Which offices are these? Will the Minister give us information on the professional training that has already been carried out by some of her staff? Has any of this training been done externally to date? What contractors were used and what was the procurement method? Are private contractors being asked by the Minister to do some, quite a lot or all of this work?

See this speech in context