Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Question 438: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the fact that there is a shortfall in the numbers of publicly funded courses available for persons who are anxious to retrain themselves for the workforce; if her further attention has been drawn to the fact that if a person, who can not access a publicly funded courses, wishes to improve their job prospects by undertaking a course privately, they will lose their social welfare entitlements; the steps she will take to take to rectify this situation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20388/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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A key objective of current labour market activation policy is to prevent the drift into, and reduce, long-term unemployment. The aim is to implement an activation policy which engages with every unemployed individual and, in particular, those at risk of long-term unemployment in order to provide them with a pathway to work. This means that the State will provide supports, where appropriate, in the form of access to employment advice, job search assistance/referral, education, training and work experience.

This Government's 'Pathways to Work' approach has five strands:

1. more regular and on-going engagement with people who are unemployed

2. greater targeting of activation places and opportunities

3. incentivising the take-up of opportunities

4. incentivising employers to provide more jobs for people who are unemployed, and

5. reforming institutions to deliver better services to people who are unemployed.

This approach will help people to maintain contact with the labour market, to move back to work as opportunities emerge, and will reduce the impact of long-term unemployment on individuals and their families.

The Department for Social Protection will spend approximately €977 million on employment supports including Community Employment schemes in 2012, an increase from €882 million in 2011. This is a substantial increase of €95 million in the budget for 2012, in the context of significant fiscal consolidation, and demonstrates the Government's commitment to enhancing its labour market activation policies.

My Department is committed to supporting over 85,000 beneficiaries of job placement, work experience and back to education schemes in 2012 as indicated in Table 3.

In addition the Department of Education and Skills will provide over 450,000 places in 2012 – detailed hereunder.

This is also a very significant investment in the context of the current budgetary constraints. A large number of these interventions will be provided by the private sector and community and voluntary organisations working with my Department and the Department of Education and Skills. Participants on programmes provided by private sector bodies who contract with the Departments may qualify for income support depending on the programme and the person's circumstances. The targets set out in Pathways to work are being monitored on an ongoing basis. To date progress has been satisfactory and I am satisfied that the level of training and education provision in 2012 is adequate in the context of current budgetary resources.