P J Sheehan (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 53: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the amount awarded by him to any of the organisations involved in social partnership for each of the years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and to date in 2010; the details of such payments; the amount awarded; the details of the payments by each of the agencies and bodies under the aegis of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30986/10]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Details in relation to payments made to social partner organisations under the ETAS, WIF and work-life balance programmes are as follows:

ICTU Education, Training and Advisory Services (ETAS)

An annual grant is paid to assist the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in meeting the cost of providing its Education, Training and Advisory Services (ETAS), which provides training and advice for union officials and activists in affiliated unions. The ETAS supports a diverse range of courses including Health & Safety, Pensions, promoting Equality and Diversity, certificate courses in Collective Bargaining and degree courses in Business Studies. The ICTU part funds the education divisions of SIPTU and Unite through the ETAS. The ETAS also involves the provision of all-year-round advisory services to trade unions affiliated to the ICTU.

The grants paid by the Department to meet costs incurred by the ICTU in the operation of the Education, Training and Advisory Services may cover up to 80% of expenditure on training and advisory services for union officials and activists.

Grants Amount Allocated/Paid

2004 €1,080,000

2005 €1,773,000

2006 €1,801,000

2007 €1,827,000

2008 €1,510,000

2009 €1,200,000

2010* €1,073,000

* No funds claimed to date for activity in 2010

Workplace Innovation Fund (WIF)

The Workplace Innovation Fund was launched in 2007 in fulfilment of part of a Government commitment in the Social Partnership Agreement, Towards 2016.

The Workplace Innovation Fund consisted of three Strands. Strand 1 is managed by Enterprise Ireland and Strand 3 was managed during its operation by the National Centre for Partnership and Performance (NCPP).

Strand 2 provided 'Support for Capacity Building among Social Partners' and was intended to support a range of social partner practices impacting on workplace innovation identified in the Report of the Workplace of the Future, Working to our Advantage - A National Workplace Strategy". The total amount drawn down by the social partner organisations under Strand 2 for activities undertaken between 2006 and 2008 was as follows:

* Funding provided in 2009 in respect of activities undertaken in the previous year.

National Framework Committee for Work-Life Balance

The National Framework Committee for Work-Life Balance, which has its origins in Social Partnership, comprises representatives from the social partners and various Government Departments and is chaired by my Department. The Committee is charged with supporting and facilitating the development of family friendly policies aimed at assisting in the reconciliation of work and family life at the level of the enterprise. Since 2000, the Committee has undertaken a range of activities, including the provision of financial assistance to individual organisations in implementing work life balance arrangements, hosting information dissemination and exchange activities and funding social partners to develop resources to assist their members with implementation of work life balance. In this context the following financial support has been provided to social partner organisations since 2004: