Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 106: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills in view of the closure of the Jobfit programme at the end of June, the body from which unemployed persons will receive the support which that organisation provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18107/11]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The Labour Market Activation Fund was launched in March 2010 in order to aid the creation of training and education programmes for specific priority groups among the unemployed. It is anticipated that approximately 11,500 unemployed people will have benefited from the Fund when it comes to completion.

No additional funding was made available in Budget 2011 for a further expansion of the 2010 Activation Fund. However, the impacts of the funded projects will be fully assessed and results made available to Government in the Autumn, with a view to informing the consideration of any further iterations of this funding model.

The Department of Social Protection and FAS provide a range of supports for the unemployed and for specific queries in relation to these supports the Deputy should contact the Department of Social Protection or FAS directly.

At the beginning of this year my Department was funding the provision of 148,500 Training places through FAS, Skillnets and the Labour Market Activation Fund, 168,000 Further Education places and 156,000 Higher Education places.

As you are aware the recently announced Jobs Initiative provides for an additional 15,900 places to be made available by the Department of Education and Skills bringing the total training places available for the unemployed this year to 154,500. It also brings places which the unemployed may access in the Further Education sector to 172,000 and in the Higher Education sector to 161,900.