Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 347: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government 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. [45323/09]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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A significant theme of my Department's Human Resource Strategy is to support the process of ongoing learning, thus ensuring that staff are empowered to reach their full potential and that the Department has the capacity and skills base to address specific organisational needs. In support of this objective, the Department provides for a variety of training and development opportunities, including on the job training, skill specific training, and training to support the implementation of specific organisational objectives.

The Department operates a "Refund of Fees" scheme whereby staff can avail of financial assistance to attend further education courses that are beneficial to the work of the Department. Such courses include further education opportunities in areas such as policy analysis, economics, public administration etc. Such development opportunities ensure that staff are equipped with the skill set and experience to deal with the many different aspects of work being undertaken in the Department. The majority of staff attend such part time courses in their own time.

Details of the number of staff who have received financial assistance to pursue courses in further or higher education during the academic years 2004 to date are set out in the following table.

Staff assignments in my Department are influenced by a variety of considerations including specific business requirements, and ongoing development and mobility opportunities for all staff. In this context, experience and educational qualifications are taken into account.