Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 23: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the findings of the report commissioned by her Department on the FÁS science challenge programme. [19179/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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In late 2008, as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, a number of matters came to my attention with regard to the FÁS Science Challenge Initiative and I commissioned a review of this programme.

The review concluded that the Initiative had been of some benefit to the personal and career development of some of its participants and had resulted in beneficial links between institutions in the United States and those in Ireland. However, as a FÁS-run programme the review also found that the Initiative was outside the main remit of the Agency and in itself had not represented best value for money on the basis of efficiency, effectiveness and economy. The review also concluded that there was no evidence to show that the Initiative had contributed to the systemic goals of the Government's Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation 2006-13.

Given these conclusions and the need for FÁS to concentrate on its core remit of providing training and employment opportunities, I directed my then Department to make the necessary arrangements for the commencement of the orderly wind down of the Science Challenge Initiative once all existing commitments for the 2008/2009 academic year had been met. This has now been carried out.