Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

I did not interrupt the Minister. The definition of an intern is one who works in a temporary position, with the emphasis on training on the job rather than employment. Our NewERA document will certainly provide for internship and confidence for our young people. Our youth are now more inclined to emigrate to Canada, America and Australia. We need to take measures to ensure our residents are not leaving like they did in the 1980s.

As the Department of Social Protection takes over FÁS, those employed will be solely responsible for training. This demonstrates that FÁS has failed miserably to show its ability to train and integrate. Interviews rather than action have been the predominant course of action. If FÁS is to be completely restructured, we need to ensure this pattern does not continue. Radical changes need to be made to battle unemployment. Will this change occur through innovative actions rather than rhetoric? I await to see what Tús will bring. New ideas and thinking are needed to do things that have not happened over the past ten years in FÁS. FÁS is coming under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection and the Minister has a duty and an obligation to ensure that what happened over the past ten years will never happen again. I am speaking about the waste of taxpayers' money. The money has to be spent wisely.

I look forward to speaking about partial capacity on Committee Stage. I regret we have not had enough time since yesterday to go into the amendments in detail. I have doubts about electronic certification. I understand electronic signing but I have serious concerns about fraud with regard to electronic text messaging and voice recognition. I welcome the idea of people being fit or unfit for work and the idea of partial capacity and how we can motivate people who want to work. I have questions on these which I will pose on Committee Stage.