Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Question 4: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the additional training and education places provided for in Budget 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5640/11]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Budget 2011 introduced by the previous Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government contained an additional 15,500 places on three activation employment initiatives aimed at supporting the unemployed. The first of these initiatives was the work placement programme, which was expanded by 5,500 places in budget 2011. This has now brought the total number of places available to 7,500. Five thousand of the additional places are in the public sector with the remaining 500 places available for graduates in the private sector. The second initiative was the internship development programme. This programme aims to provide up to 5,000 12 month internship opportunities in the private, community and voluntary sectors. To assess potential interest in the programme, FÁS Employment Services last month launched a call for expressions of interest from employers.

The third initiative is called Tús, which is a community work placement initiative for up to 5,000 persons and was launched on 21 December 2010. Tús provides short-term, quality work opportunities for those who are unemployed for more than a year and currently in receipt of a jobseeker's allowance payment.

In addition to these initiatives, in December 2010 my Department launched the Springboard Fund, which is a €20 million multi-annual higher education labour market fund to enable unemployed people access part-time higher education opportunities. The deadline for receipt of applications for funding was Friday, 18 March 2011 and an independent panel will select successful proposals in the coming weeks.

Last December, my Department also launched the redundant apprentice placement scheme, at a cost of €7.3 million, to provide 1,000 places to assist redundant apprentices to progress their apprenticeship training. The scheme commenced in January 2011 and as of 11 March 2011 there were 254 redundant apprentices on the scheme.

These new initiatives are in addition to a total of 464,500 training and education places which are currently available in 2011. Of those, 140,500 are training places, 168,000 are in the further education sector and 156,000 are in the higher education sector.

Our programme for Government commits us to providing additional training, work experience and education places for the unemployed.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. The Minister indicates in his reply that substantial provision was made in budget 2011 for further education, and training also through different methods including FÁS. The Minister rightly outlined the new additional initiatives announced in that budget including the €20 million multi-annual higher education labour market fund, the expanded redundant apprentice placement scheme, 700 places in institutes of technology for redundant apprentices and craftspersons, 5,000 places on a new skills development internship programme and 7,500 places on an expanded work placement programme. Could the Minister give me an assurance that he and his Department, and the Minister, Deputy Quinn, will ensure that these initiates are driven forward as quickly as possible to ensure that all places are taken up, that the many unemployed people who are seeking a place on a programme are facilitated and that all of the provision that has been made for 2011 will be availed of?

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I very much empathise with Deputy Smith's wishes to have these programmes continue and be supplemented by other provisions within the programme for Government. In addition to the provisions I have just outlined we have also committed to creating an additional 60,000 places across a range of education and employment programmes for the unemployed. The programme for Government also states that within the first 100 days of taking office the Government will create a jobs fund which will be used to resource a number of initiatives aimed at stimulating economic growth and employment creation.

Deputy Smith is right in pointing out that this is a serious challenge facing our country. The most recent employment statistics provided by the Central Statistics Office indicate that long-term unemployment accounts for almost 52% of total unemployment compared with just 33% a year earlier. My fear is that the longer one remains unemployed, the more unemployable one becomes. The emphasis in my Department, therefore, will be on providing them with every opportunity we can resource to allow them re-enter the workforce and access the training and upskilling they will require to do that.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his commitment to ensuring that adequate provision is made. Both the public and private sectors are too lethargic in availing of these schemes at different times and perhaps the Croke Park agreement could ensure that the blockages put in place in the past to slow progress in the public service could be availed of also.

Could the Minister let me know if the Department of Education and Skills will have a role in the provision of training when FÁS is replaced by the new national employment and entitlements service?

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The national employment and entitlements service, which is due to replace FÁS, will be predominantly the responsibility of the Minister for Social Protection. The programme for Government states that the national employment and entitlements service will integrate all employment and benefit support services into a single delivery unit managed by the Department of Social Protection. It will also provide a new one stop shop, as referred to in the programme for Government, for people searching for employment, seeking advice about their training options or establishing their benefit options. To a very large degree the duties currently carried out by FÁS will be subsumed into that new one stop shop service and, consequently, will be the responsibility of the Minister for Social Protection from now on.