Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 110: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment 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. [45322/09]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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A total of 167 payments were made to 116 staff in the years in question, in connection with their successful participation, in their own time, in approved courses of further education.. Details of the number of payments in each of the relevant years is shown in the table below. For approved courses of more than one years duration, staff may claim a refund (of fees paid) for each successfully completed year.

My Department provides financial assistance to staff pursuing such courses in accordance with the terms of Department of Finance Circular 23/07. Consequently, applications for financial assistance to pursue further or higher education are only accepted in respect of courses deemed by the Head of the Department/Office to be relevant to the Civil Service employment of the officer(s) concerned. Financial assistance is only granted where the discipline being pursued is relevant to the business needs of the Department. In most cases, staff who receive financial assistance to pursue such a course of studies are already working in an area for which the particular qualification is appropriate. Otherwise, where possible, they are subsequently assigned to an appropriate area.