Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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114. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there is a detailed plan on how the National Training Fund will be expanded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37309/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. There is a simple answer, but since the Deputy probably wants some details, I will tell him a bit more. I am very passionate and excited about the opportunity we have provided through the National Training Fund. There is a surplus in the fund of almost €1.5 billion and that has been accumulated through employer contributions over several years. The issue today is that it has been difficult to fully harness the potential of the fund because it was first envisaged as a labour activation measure in times of economic turbulence when people on the live register were trying to get back into the workforce for reskilling and upskilling. This is still important but thankfully, for now, the economic climate is more robust.

The use of that money can be more purposefully put towards plugging the core funding gap in higher education, for example. The Cassells report identified €307 million of a shortfall between what the colleges were receiving and what they actually needed to operate. I intend to put €150 million per year current funding into the colleges to plug that gap. That should close the funding gap once and for all. It is a really significant measure if we achieve that. There is also money ring-fenced for apprenticeships and for the further education system. There is also money ring-fenced from capital spending and decarbonisation of the higher education estate. There are moneys ring-fenced for the likes of the new courses in medicine. We have new courses starting in Galway and Limerick, pharmacy and veterinary courses in ATU and SETU, and a number of other professional courses which are being supported through the National Training Fund, along with investment and research. The research stipends have increased to €25,000 from €16,000, a very significant leap. They are really the fuel that drives our information economy, our PhD students and researchers. That is being supported through it as well, along with some capital allocation. To do that, I need to legislate for it. As originally envisaged, it is not allowed for the money to be spend in that way. I hope to bring that legislation before the House this year.

Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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As I understand it, it is a 1% charge which is collected through employer's PRSI. I was looking at employer's PRSI and could not find it anywhere so I presume it is just buried within the employer's rate. Will the Minister give us a sense of this? It is going up year on year, with buoyancy in employment it should be going up more. Roughly how much does it go up by year on year? That sets out the scope of operation in terms of what can be done.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The question is a good one as to where it goes next. Before I answer that I will talk about the steps my previous answers were stepping through. We need to bring in legislation because the National Training Fund Act does not envisage the type of uses I have just outlined. I think they are important. I met with IBEC and other employer representatives on it. There is a general shared understanding that we need to invest in education and all the things I have just said. This is a very useful resource towards that. The heads of the Bill are being drafted. That is before the relevant committee. I think there was a briefing on it this evening. The intention is to get that legislation before the Dáil very early in the new term. If that legislation is passed through all Stages, which I very much hope and think it can be, early when we resume after the summer break, we can then begin to spend that money and get some impact from that.

The Deputy's question is very perceptive. That is the situation to date but it will continue and there will be more moneys coming into that. It is important in fairness to employers who pay the rate that they see some return on it as well. When they have a return on investment from education, we absolutely need to incorporate workforce skilling and practical measures to support employers as well.