Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for the information he has provided to Senators. The picture does not seem as rosy as he has outlined. Lifelong learning, upskilling and retraining are now more important than ever in our society and in the lives of many who are unemployed, isolated and abandoned and who do not have the access to re-skilling and education they deserve.

My colleagues have dealt with the issues of literacy, numeracy and basic educational needs. They have also referred to the formal and informal roles of the agencies in attaining the basic standard of education that gives people a reasonable and fair chance in life.

The Minister of State referred to early school leavers and the young unemployed. Thousands of young people feel they have no option but to leave the country. Many of them have a good education, vocational training and apprenticeships but they cannot find work where they can use the resources they have acquired over many years. It is important that all State agencies look at new ways to find employment for those young people.

We need to think outside the box. Thousands of young apprentices are skilled in the building trade but will not find work in the construction of new build. Under master craftsmen, they could be employed in areas such as conservation and community projects renovating or conserving schools, community halls or other buildings of importance to communities. Surely we can look at ways of getting those apprentices off the dole queues, employing master craftsmen to oversee the work they do and putting practical schemes in place to deliver productivity for the community and develop new or alternative skills in the young apprentices. That is how we need to think and how State agencies need to restructure themselves to create employment for young people.

In a recession there is a bigger demand than ever for our State agencies and for those who train and educate. We need to remove any barriers to people achieving new skills. We must encourage initiative, enterprise and lifelong learning. All these areas must be addressed.

I acknowledge the role of VECs and FÁS. They have done a good job over many years, but we are in a different time now. Old ways will not meet the demands of modern society and of the recession. We need to restructure and rethink how we can find employment for our people.

The Minister of State referred to the European globalisation adjustment fund. I come from Waterford which has been heavily dependent on manufacturing. We have taken huge hits over recent years with significant companies such as Waterford Crystal, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and ABB engaging in large-scale redundancies. The Minister of State mentioned that a large number of applications are before the European Parliament and while I understand the Waterford Crystal and SR Technics applications are near approval, I regret that the response of the Government to the application was poor.

I owe an apology to FÁS. I organised a public meeting in Waterford to which I invited all State agencies and redundant workers from Waterford Crystal to enlighten them about the application and to make it more transparent. European Commission officials visited Waterford to explain how the scheme would work and how they would benefit. Unfortunately, I omitted to invite FÁS and I criticised the agency afterwards for not attending. Although the meeting was publicly advertised and FÁS officials did not turn up, I apologise to them. The scheme is not being co-ordinated properly and information is not being communicated to redundant workers who are in need and who, at a critical time in their lives, find themselves unemployed. They are seeking guidance and leadership which they are not getting from the Government.

Initially, FÁS was the co-ordinating agency for the Dell application and it was understood it would fill the same role for the Waterford Crystal workers but, unfortunately, the Government has advertised for an independent co-ordinating agency which has only added to the confusion. The clock is ticking and the workers are appealing for assistance, communication, consultation and tailor-made courses as opposed to standard forklift and computer courses. Courses that take advantage of new opportunities in the areas of green technology, renewables and entrepreneurship are needed. Workers need to be enabled to access such courses but there is no engagement on the ground. I appeal to the Minister of State to address this concern.

There is a 24-month window to access the European globalisation adjustment fund which will provide €500 million in total. Funding has almost been secured for Waterford and it is important it is used in the best and most efficient manner to assist workers and the agencies engaged in rolling out courses and to ensure the agencies are fully au fait with their responsibilities and obligations in this regard. I suspect they are not currently. I invited representatives of many of those agencies to the public meeting and they were not aware of their responsibilities nor had they been notified officially by the Department of their obligations under the scheme. This needs attention.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. will make 315 workers redundant later this year in Waterford. Unfortunately, applications to access the European fund must relate to a minimum of 500 workers but there is nothing to prevent the Government combining these workers with those who have lost jobs in the industry at, for example, Pfizer or in similar industries and submitting a combined application on their behalf. We still have not heard from the Government about whether it intends to make an application to the fund on behalf of the Teva Pharmaceutical and ABB workers, which is neglectful. The Government must focus on the needs of all redundant workers and not only those formerly employed by large companies. The job losses of smaller companies need to be combined to access as much assistance as possible for the workers affected.

The construction industry also needs to be examined because thousands of workers have been made redundant in that sector. Many of them were self-employed tradesmen and, because of this, they have been more or less left to their own devices. It is important they receive assistance from the State. They need to find new ways to create jobs and to return to the workforce, whether that is through entrepreneurship with the assistance of county and city enterprise boards or agencies such as the VEC and FÁS. The bar needs to be raised and we need to find the ways to get people back to work or to participate in lifelong learning initiatives.