Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 18: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to the report prepared by FÁS, which forecasts that a quarter of all building workers will lose their jobs by the end of 2008; if she shares this analysis; if she is satisfied that adequate opportunities are in place to provide re-training opportunities for those who may lose their jobs in the construction sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23932/08]

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 32: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment her views on the recent FÁS report stating that a total of 65,400 construction workers, a quarter of all building workers, will lose their jobs at the end of 2009; the plans in place to deal with such job losses; if she will put in place measures to retrain these workers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23153/08]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 68: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she is satisfied that all appropriate retraining opportunities are available for workers who lose their jobs, particularly in the construction sector; if she has plans to provide additional training opportunities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23929/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 18, 32 and 68 together.

The report referred to by the Deputy was an internal FÁS report which was produced by the FÁS Board sub-committee on the construction/contracting sector and discussed by the FÁS Board. It was produced to allow the Agency to respond in an appropriate and effective matter to ongoing developments in the construction industry and to assist workers who are made redundant.

The report projects that employment in the construction sector will fall by 65,400 overall by the end of 2009. This is due to the slowdown in new housing but over the same period new jobs will be created in the three other major sub-sectors of the construction industry (repair and maintenance, general contracting and civil engineering). Further job gains are anticipated in future years according to the FÁS report. We will have to wait to see if these projections are borne out by reality. Employment in the Construction sector is currently at 274,400 (QNHS Quarter 1, 2008) showing a decrease of 3.4% or 9,800 jobs in the year. However, there are now 18,700 more jobs in construction than there were two years ago.

The Department of Finance is projecting new house completions of around 55,000 units this year. In its Medium-Term Review, the ESRI foresees a continuing demand for new homes to 2025 with forecast housing completions at an average of 48,000 per year from 2010 to 2020. So despite current difficulties in housing and construction, the economy needs to continue substantial investment in housing and infrastructure over the coming decade. While the slowdown in new house building has resulted in an increase in unemployment, overall employment is forecast to continue to grow, albeit at a reduced rate than heretofore, thereby providing new job opportunities.

There are a range of training opportunities available to those who lose their jobs in the construction sector to assist them find employment. FÁS Training Services programmes offer a range of specific skills to workers and an individual career path plan can be developed with each redundant worker to assist him/her back into employment. After 3 months on the live register those who are still unemployed are referred by the Department of Social and Family Affairs to FÁS to assist them into training or employment.

FÁS is working through its own Employment Service and with the Local Employment Service provided by Area Based Partnerships to provide increased interviewing and caseload management capacity to respond to the increased numbers on the Live Register. Specifically, FÁS is implementing a range of short and medium term actions for those affected by the increase in unemployment and the construction slowdown such as:

putting in place training to upskill construction workers in relation to emerging needs;

business training and mentoring for workers from larger enterprises entering self-employment;

developing measures to ensure continuity in the apprenticeship system;

promoting access for mobile workers to construction jobs elsewhere in the EU, including the UK.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 19: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if investment in training and upskilling courses for people who have lost their jobs or who are long-term unemployed has increased over the past year; and the amount by which it has increased. [23565/08]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 67: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the amount that is being spent annually to provide training and upskilling courses for the unemployed. [23564/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 67 together.

In 2008 nearly €246 million is being invested in the provision of training and upskilling programmes for the unemployed. This represents an increase of 5.7% on that spent in 2007. This training ranges from basic bridging foundation courses to more advanced skills training and traineeship. In addition to this €377 million will be spent on Community Employment schemes, which are specifically aimed at integrating the long-term unemployed into the workforce by providing work experience and training. This represents an increase of 5.2% on that spent in 2007.

Training for the unemployed is part of wider Government policy in the context of the Government Human Capital Priority commitments in the National Development Plan 2007-13. Over the period of the NDP the Government will invest €7.7 billion in public funds to support training and skills development both for the unemployed and those who are in employment. This is a significant increase when compared with the level of spending over the previous seven-year period (2000-2006) of €5.9 billion. The current level of investment reflects the importance the Government attaches to developing and maintaining an educated, skilled and adaptable work force in Ireland.

As part of this strategy, FÁS provides a range of services to the unemployed with particular emphasis on those who may have difficulty in accessing the labour market such as people with disabilities, women returnees and early school leavers. The focus is on the provision of training and employment programmes, which will assist these groups to enter or re-enter the labour market or progress to further job-related training.

In addition, FÁS provides an integrated support service for anyone made redundant. This involves information sessions, skills analysis, training/retraining courses and job placement. In the delivery of these services, FÁS liaises with other relevant agencies such as Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, the City/County Enterprise Boards and the Department of Social and Family Affairs. FÁS also works closely with the agencies to identify and support individuals who wish to start their own business.