Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 30: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the total number of persons who have accessed interventions from the European globalisation fund for redundant construction workers; the types of interventions that these persons have accessed and the total spend to date on these interventions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25790/12]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The three programmes in support of eligible redundant workers in the construction subsectors coded NACE 41, NACE 43 and NACE 71 which are being co-financed under the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) are all ongoing until 9 June 2012. The Department is required under the EGF Regulations to submit a final report and accompanying statement of expenditure to the European Commission in relation to each programme by 9 December 2012. As such, final data on activity levels and related expenditure remain to be collated and certified within this period. In this context a number of claims will be made in due course to the Department for reimbursement on behalf of service providers.

However, in overview terms the Department currently estimates that since 1 July 2009 over 8,000 interventions have been commenced to date in support of the eligible redundant workers in question. These interventions include guidance, training, further education, higher education and enterprise supports.

Letter of notification of relevant EGF services issued to eligible redundant workers on 19 December 2011 including a number of additional interventions such as the provision of EGF Training Grants and tailored career planning courses run by Vocational Education Committees.

A number of reports compiled by WRC Social and Economic Consultants for the Department which detail the take up of EGF interventions since 19 December 2011 are available on the Department's dedicated website www.egf.ie. The latest report setting out the position to 27 April 2012 will be available shortly. This report indicates some 451 persons at various stages of engagement in accessing relevant interventions and another 152 persons being actively case managed in this regard; a further 205 persons have either indicated that they are not interested in taking up EGF interventions, or have not to date sought or engaged in a specific EGF intervention.