Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 341: To ask the Minister for Defence the number of staff who received financial assistance to pursue courses in further or higher education in each of the past five years; the number of such staff who were subsequently re-assigned to duties appropriate to their new qualifications. [45320/09]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The number of staff in my Department who received financial assistance to pursue courses in further or higher education in each of the past five years is detailed in the following table:

The Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) provides a framework within which the training and development needs of staff can be identified. My Department's focus is on facilitating staff in building appropriate skills and expertise in their current areas of responsibility. It achieves this through targeted training programmes and by reimbursing fees where appropriate under the Refund of Fees Scheme. It is a condition of the Scheme that staff are only authorised to attend courses that contribute to the business needs of the Department in the grade and post in which they are serving.