Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

I listened to the Minister's comments. He has referred to those involved in courses having a greater chance of gaining full-time employment than those who sit at home looking at the walls. Unfortunately, I know many who are unemployed and they do not sit at home looking at the walls. The are seeking employment and some of them will be affected by the measure in the Bill.

The Minister has admitted the activation programmes are not in place. This is completely premature. We need the Government to put in place training programmes and come up with a strategy suited to people's needs. The HEA is not properly funded for the number of courses it must provide this year. It is already refusing entry to some courses. The Minister has suggested the measures will be carried out in a targeted way and I have no doubt that will be the case. However, he also contests that this will be done in a fair way and I disagree with him in that regard. The social welfare legislation during the past two years and in recent budgets suggests "fairness" is not in the vocabulary of the Government. This is a dangerous and premature measure because the activation courses and measures are not in place. It would give discretion to an inspector to cut a payment made in the past on basis that a person did not take up training.

We must consider the greater issues involved. My party has been critical of some of the training provided. I listened to the Tánaiste when she was Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. She referred to some of the training courses FÁS had provided in the past as being questionable. We must ensure training is suited to people's needs. Our job creation strategy argues that for the 86,000 young people unemployed we should consider their long-term career prospects, given that each individual has different needs and skills and different training programmes would best suit their needs.

The Minister will be aware from his previous role of people who have taken up training. There are cases on my desk of people who have taken up FÁS training and other courses. They enjoyed the training and believe it will lead to employment. I have no wish to be critical of all FÁS training courses. Nothing could be further from the truth. Training is the means by which to get people back to employment based on their needs and skills and the areas earmarked for future employment creation.

There are situations where people are involved in training and who must travel from A to B. They live in remote, rural communities in which there are no bus services. I have just finished dealing with a case in my office in which Bús Éireann has cut back further on services to west Donegal, affecting the townlands of Dungloe, Lettermacaward and Glencolumcille, such that people cannot get to the training centres without using private cars, if they have them. If they are unemployed, that is one luxury they might have to give up and, therefore, they may be obliged to use to use taxis. In some of the cases with which I am dealing this has happened. People are using taxis to get to and from the training centres. Sometimes it may be down in black and white that a training course has been provided. However, the cost of availing of such a training course could be prohibitive and, therefore, it may not be practical for such persons to take up these courses.

This measure has not been thought out sufficiently. It is premature and can be used to penalise the unemployed who are not sitting at home looking at the walls, who wish to become involved in training to get back into real, valuable and meaningful employment. However, the courses and jobs are not available. This gives too much latitude at a time when the alternatives are not in place.