Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 105: To ask the Taoiseach 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. [45329/09]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Since 2004 the following numbers of staff received financial assistance for further or higher education under the Refund of Fees Scheme (as set out under the Department of Finance's Circular 23/07 (Post Entry Education – Refund of Fees, Study Leave and Examination Leave) :

2004-2005 20 staff

2005-2006 34 staff

2006-2007 25 staff

2007-2008 20 staff

2008-2009 21 staff

In some cases the courses taken were immediately relevant to the area in which staff were working at the time – e.g. courses in Finance, Accounting, Policy Studies, Personnel Practice, HR Management. The rest of the courses dealt with subjects relevant to a wide variety of roles in the civil service and to officers' personal development – e.g. Public Management, Law, Innovation Management, Governance, Business Studies, Social Science, Economics.

When staff re-assignments are made in my Department a number of factors are taken into account, including previous experience and skills and an assessment of suitability for particular jobs. Qualifications, regardless of whether they were obtained through the Refund of Fees Scheme, before employment in my Department commenced or otherwise, are also considered when assignments are made. In addition, regard is had to staff preferences and the need to develop staff while at the same time building up for the future the core competencies and skill set base for the Department as a whole.