Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have read the document from AONTAS and I have substantial ongoing communication with AONTAS and also with NALA, another entity involved in adult education. Both organisations were involved in feeding information into the reform process outlined by Deputy O'Brien.

We were careful in the preparation of last year's and this year's budgets to ensure the spend in the area is protected as much as possible against the harshest winds of the recession we are all suffering at the moment. We have been creative and innovative in looking at other mechanisms for funding that sector. The Springboard programme assists those who have a third level qualification to re-engineer that qualification by engaging in a one or two-year course that would allow them to use their existing skills to look at career opportunities in other areas that might not have been apparent two or three years ago. They are undertaking those courses free of charge and being supported by the State while doing so.

A new labour market education and training fund will be announced shortly. Recipients will be awarded grants from a fund of €20 million that will provide 6,500 places for young people who are currently unemployed, more often than not long-term unemployed, to assist them in beginning the journey back to work. For many it will be a long and difficult journey but we must start it and allow them to gain the skills they will need to re-enter work. We are not just funnelling money through the usual channels, other innovative approaches are being taken to assist people who are in a difficult place.

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