Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 60: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if he shares the concerns of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association that the recent departmental division of FÁS including the allocation of certain responsibilities to the Department of Education and Skills will serve to add further delays in redundancy rebates. [15486/10]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The transfer of FÁS to the Department of Education and Skills will have no impact whatsoever on the waiting time for payment of redundancy rebates as they are completely unrelated. Responsibility for all aspects of FÁS including training and the governance of FÁS has transferred out of my Department and now resides, since the making of the Government order in early May 2010, with the Department of Education and Skills. It is intended that responsibility for the national employment service (including the local employment service) and employment programmes will move from the Department of Education and Skills to the Department for Social Protection under a further Government order to be made in due course. Responsibility for the redundancy and insolvency payment schemes currently resides with my Department pending the making of a Government order to transfer these functions to the Department of Social Protection. In transferring the functions between Departments, it is the intention that this will operate seamlessly and without any adverse impact on the service levels being experienced by individuals or the business community awaiting payment of redundancy claims. There will be full engagement between my Department and the Department of Social and Family Affairs and the Department of Education and Skills in the necessary planning and organising to achieve a seamless transfer of functions.