Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 220: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she will request FÁS to extend the local training initiative to include the construction of community facilities, including sports halls and community centres, to enable apprentices to complete their apprenticeships and to provide employment opportunities for other unemployed people; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31690/09]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The FÁS Local Training Initiative (LTI) programme is a project-based training and work experience programme carried out in local communities and run by local community groups. The LTI provides alternative early training interventions for socially excluded clients and is designed to reach out to niche marginalised groups and provide individually based training tailored to meet locally identified needs.

There is a wide range of activation measures both aimed specifically at redundant apprentices such as the Employer Based Redundant Apprentice Rotation Scheme and the provision of 700 places annually at Institutes of Technology for redundant apprentices, and more generally at the unemployed which the Government has implemented or deepened since the April budget.

Activation measures aimed at assisting the unemployed back to work or to retaining vulnerable jobs include over 130,000 training and work experience places funded by my Department through FÁS including 22,700 Community Employment places, a Work Placement programme, a Short-Time Workers training programme and an Employment Subsidy Scheme (Temporary). Moreover, additional activation oriented measures are being funded by the Department of Education and Science to provide significant numbers of part-time third level courses for the unemployed or those on short time working. Full details of all relevant measures have been given to the House previously.