Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 85: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if it is planned to proceed with a proposed 25% reduction in the training budget for Skillnets Limited; if, in view of the importance of upskilling workers in the current economic climate, she will ensure that the funding is maintained; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25380/09]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 86: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, further to Parliamentary Question No. 113 of 27 May 2009, if she will issue confirmation of the final drawdown from her Department to ensure that Skillnets Limited can then issue a letter of confirmation to Skillnets networks on the final drawdown in 2010 to allow them raise bank overdrafts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25402/09]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 85 and 86 together.

I refer to the reply to Question Numbers 119 to 122 of 19 May 2009 wherein I stated that a revised total 2009 allocation of €16.595m was notified by my Department to Skillnets Ltd on 13 May 2009. While I understand that Skillnets Ltd subsequently informed individual networks of their final grant allocations for the remainder of 2009, the notification and payment of grants to individual networks are operational matters for Skillnets Ltd in which I have no function.

Moreover, the allocation of the final retention grant payments to individual networks in 2010 is also a matter for Skillnets Ltd. and is subject to a number of variables, including the amount of total grant expenditure by networks and the amount of matching private funding provided by them in 2009. These will not be known until early 2010.

The budgetary allocation for the Skillnets Training Networks Programme next year is a matter for consideration within the forthcoming 2010 Estimates process.