Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 217: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the amount of money expended by FÁS on the centre of excellence in construction at Mountlucas, County Offaly; the purpose of the centre; the number of trainees attending same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2281/09]

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 218: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the cost of purchase of a site at Mountlucas, County Offaly for the FÁS centre of excellence in construction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2282/09]

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 220: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of staff to be employed at the centre of excellence at Mountlucas, County Offaly; the grade of same staff; the number intended to be employed at the time of the inception of the project; the number of people, who at the time the project was initiated were expected to use the facility each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2284/09]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 217, 218 and 220 together.

The National Construction Centre was established to provide training of plant construction operators, including delivery of the full range of Construction Skills Certification Scheme programmes and Safepass, for which FÁS is the designated competent authority under the relevant Statutory Instrument (Recognition of Professional Qualifications Regulations 2008, SI no 139 of 2008). The Centre focuses on the development of skills used in Civil Engineering and Commercial Building sectors. This centre supports the thinking that informed the construction legislation and regulations behind the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS). Essentially this is to develop skills in construction workers that will protect workers through safe working practices in occupations that pose significant risk. The Centre will also undertake trainer assessments.

The total development cost of the centre is €6.78 million. This includes the original projected construction costs and additional costs due to compliance with various safety and environmental requirements, together with County Council and ESB fees. The land, which is the site for the FÁS National Construction Centre at Mountlucas, Co. Offaly is owned by Bórd Na Mona and is leased to FÁS for an annual rent of €10,000 per year.

The working model for the facility was designed to be flexible in scale, the initial planned staffing was for 7 in total. This is comprised of 1 Assistant Manager (Grade 7), 4 Instructors (Grade 8), 1 Administration Assistant (Grade 10) and 1 General Assistant (Grade 13). Other private contractors will be contracted as second providers as demand requires. The current staffing is 3 (Grades 7, 8 and 10) in order to bring the facility and its systems to operational standard.

The construction of this project is just complete and it is now at the normal snagging stage with contractors still on site, thus operation of the facility has not commenced. The first course on Construction Plant Equipment Operation is due to commence at the end of February and preparations for this are now taking place.

The strategy behind the training facility is to develop skills in a safe, purpose-built facility so that both experienced and new entrants develop skills on site in real time with real risks, bearing in mind the nature of the equipment involved such as heavy earthmoving and cranes etc. This is seen within the industry as desirable and indeed best practice. It mirrors the approach in other countries such as the UK and Australia.

The projected number of trainees forecast to use the Centre at the time the project was initiated was expected to be not below 12,000 per annum. While there has been a considerable downturn in the construction sector the facility has been developed with flexibility in mind; a portion of the facility will now be dedicated to providing general and specific skills training such as: IT, administration, enterprise development, driving, retail and services, to people who are unemployed from the local area and towns.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 219: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number, following her announcement to facilitate FÁS apprentices who are unable to complete their apprenticeships due to the downturn in the industry, who have applied to be facilitated under the new initiative; the number of companies who have agreed to participate in the new initiative; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2283/09]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The purpose of the Employer Based Redundant Apprentice Rotation Scheme is to provide redundant apprentices an opportunity to complete the on-the-job phase of their apprenticeship in order to gain the required knowledge, skill and competence to successfully progress to the next off-the-job phase or to complete their apprenticeship during 2009.

FÁS with the support of eligible employers will place a redundant apprentice with an eligible employer, to replace an existing apprentice who has been released to attend a scheduled off-the-job phase of apprenticeship. For an employer to be eligible under the scheme they must not have made an apprentice redundant since 1st January 2007 and they must not displace an existing apprentice.

The first scheduled intake for off-the-job training for 2009 commenced with the release of apprentices by employers on the 5th January 2009 to the Institutes of Technology. FÁS has been in contact with the eligible employers who have released apprentices for off-the-job training to request their support for the placement of a redundant apprentice with the Employer. To date 83 employers have expressed an interest in the scheme and FÁS expects that approximately 85 redundant apprentices will commence their on-the-job experience under the scheme over the next number of weeks. FÁS is actively in contact with eligible companies to make the necessary arrangements for the placement of redundant apprentices during the course of 2009.