Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 9: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the steps he is taking to increase the number of places available in further education institutions in order to retrain and upskill the increasingly unemployed workforce; if he will re-prioritise funding in his departmental budget towards providing courses, particularly in the further education sector, towards this aim; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7924/09]

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Over the past number of years the Government has prioritised a major expansion of opportunities in adult and further education. Between 2002 and 2008, expenditure on these areas increased by 60%, from €256 million to €414 million. In terms of extending opportunity, this increased expenditure meant that, in 2008, over 49,000 places were provided in further education courses compared to almost 43,000 places in 2002.

Budget 2009 required difficult choices to be made across all areas of public expenditure in order to control expenditure and ensure sustainability in the long term. While the provision for further and adult education in 2009 shows a small increase on the outturn for 2008, nevertheless it will require very careful management of available resources. Given the overall financial constraints and the various competing demands across the education sector, it is not possible to re-prioritise funding for the further education sector from within the existing budget for the Department of Education and Science.

However, my Department, in conjunction with the Departments of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Social and Family Affairs and Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, is working as a matter of urgency to identify innovative and creative ways to maximise provision and enhance effectiveness. My Department is also working closely with all the stakeholders and providers in the further and adult education sector in order to address the retraining and upskilling needs of the workforce.

As part of our efforts in this regard, my Department and representatives of the Irish Vocational Education Association and Institutes of Technology Ireland participate in the upskilling co-ordination group chaired by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. My Department is also liaising with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with a view to improving the co-ordination of our efforts and facilitating better co-operation and collaboration at local and regional level among the relevant education and training providers.

The increase in unemployment brings with it many challenges, including that of retraining and upskilling. In order to address these challenges in this difficult financial situation, we must continue to target and prioritise our resources to maximum effect across the education sector. I am confident that by working closely with other Departments and agencies we can maximise the impact of our collective endeavours in meeting the challenges presented by the current economic situation.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State. I am not so sure that the reply would be different if we were in the middle of a boom.

There was a good article by Professor Tom Collins in the education supplement of The Irish Times recently about the existing spare capacity within the institutes of technology, IT, and vocational education committee, VEC, sectors. While the Minister of State has given me a standard departmental reply, for which he is not necessarily responsible because he did not write it, would he agree that we need to respond more proactively to the cascade of skilled people out of secure employment and into unemployment, which is unprecedented?

If I may make this question supplementary to Question No. 20, which is about the extra places that FÁS has been mandated to obtain, the Minister of State will not get part of the FÁS budget out of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment but I ask him to enter into negotiations to see whether the spend that FÁS will put into the private sector for contractors could be directed into the VEC and IT sectors.

There is spare capacity. Professor Tom Collins speaks of it and anecdotal discussions with many of the ITs will tell the Minister of State that many course places are not taken up. I am trying to get a new kind of approach, above and beyond the traditional one to which the Minister of State referred which has been victim of a certain cutback.

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will take the last part of Deputy Quinn's question on the 51,000 additional FÁS places first. These additional places are being provided by FÁS from within existing resources. In delivering these places FÁS will, in addition to its own delivery of courses, contract with other bodies for provision of relevant courses. It would be open to VECs and institutes of technology to bid for the provision of appropriate courses. All of these organisations are working together at national and local level to ensure both the education and the training sectors respond in an optimum way to the situation we are currently facing. FÁS and the Irish Vocational Education Association are liaising on the matter. I accept the Irish Vocational Education Association is making similar points to the Deputy.

I do not accept that I gave a standard reply but outlined that the Government attaches the greatest urgency to this situation because of the numbers being made unemployed. There is close co-operation now through Cabinet committees to upskill and retrain the unemployed. We are looking at creative and innovative ways to deal with that situation and I expect announcements will be made. I recognise the article referred to by the Deputy and we are examining areas where there is duplication and spare capacity in the further education sector.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Could the spend be co-ordinated between the Department of Education and Science and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to ensure that the substantial resources that are going to FÁS are not outsourced to third party private contractors? There can be plenty of flexibility in the spending of the money but there should be an assurance that the money that is within the FÁS budget will be spent within the existing public educational infrastructure which currently has spare capacity. The track record of FÁS in recent times would cause one to doubt the efficiency of it placing contracts with third parties in the private sector. There is an accountable infrastructure in place that is short of resources but that has the capacity.

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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We have identified spare capacity, particularly in the institutes of technology. We are also looking at ways that further education schemes can be expanded. The Deputy makes a good point in that there must be greater co-operation and co-ordination on education and training even though they are split between two Departments. As Minister of State in both Departments, my aim is to secure that co-operation and I am fighting that case to see if we can change the way we do things in the provision of education and training.