Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 171: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the amount of funding provided to FÁS in 2009 in respect of the local employment service; the breakdown of the amount which has been approved for each local employment service; the way this compares with the 2007 and 2008 allocations; when this funding will be available to each local employment service; and the plans to extend each service in order that the catchment area of every local social welfare office is covered. [3122/09]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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In 2007 the total funding provided by the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment (DETE), through FÁS, to the Local Employment Service Network (LESN) was €19,267,664. This rose to €19,430,000 in 2008. The total spend by the LESN was €18,682,145 in 2007 and €19,279,126 during 2008. The table provides a detailed breakdown of the funds provided to each individual member of the LESN in 2007 & 2008.

The budget process for 2009 is currently underway and involves each LES making a bid, which addresses a variety of financial headings. In the meantime, funding is already being provided to the LESN while the budgetary process in being finalised. It is anticipated that the process will be finalised within a matter of weeks.

Together FÁS Employment Services and the Local Employment Service form the dual strands of the National Employment Service (NES). The NES has a national footprint at local level through FÁS's 70 Employment Service Offices nationwide and also through the LESNs provision of services within the 26 regions they operate in. To further enhance the service, the NES has established a complimentary working group with a view to closer co-operation between FÁS and the LESN at policy level, while at a local level FÁS Employment Services Managers & LES Coordinators work closely together in delivering services.

The NES and the Department of Social & Family Affairs (DSFA) coordinate at both national and local levels in order to further enhance employments services, through interdepartmental meetings attended by DETE, DSFA and FÁS and local level meetings between FÁS Employment Service Managers, LESN coordinators and Managers within the DSFA.

Finally, FÁS is in discussions with the LESN regarding their more intensive involvement in the activation of the unemployed and arrangements are being put in place for the direct referral of National Employment Action Plan (NEAP) clients to the LES.