Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)
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Question 166: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his plans to help improve the English language skills of immigrants here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2604/07]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Primary responsibility for general English language training rests with the Department of Education and Science who deliver such training through the adult literacy programmes delivered by the Vocational Educational Committees. They report that resources provided for "English for Speakers of Other Languages" courses has expanded considerably in recent years in response to increased demand. Towards 2016 commits to increasing this further.

This Department's contribution to the development of English language skills of migrants is the provision by FÁS of technical English language training. This is done as part of FÁS regular training provision, rather than on a stand-alone basis. FÁS currently provides "English for Migrant Workers" modules within their IT training and are about to introduce it into three further sectors — construction, security and hospitality/services. The modules will also be introduced on a fee-paying basis as part of FÁS evening course provision for employed clients. This shift in the structure of international trade poses challenges to economic policy makers in all countries. Thankfully, Ireland has so far shown itself sufficiently flexible and adaptable to move to higher value added activities, providing quality, sustainable jobs. Furthermore, in large companies this process of transformation is often accommodated by a reallocation and retraining of staff within the company, and this on-going internal re-organisation and upskilling, resulting in improved productivity in the face of international competition does not get the same media attention that job losses do. However, there are of course cases where plants do shut down, and the resulting redundancies can be very difficult for workers and their communities. Where this has occurred to date it has mainly been confined to relatively low technology, labour-intensive activities. We are continuing to pursue policies to promote lifelong learning and upskilling to improve labour market flexibility and, where necessary, ensure that appropriate training supports are provided for workers in sectors that are no longer competitive, should they need to find alternative employment.