Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 41: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which he and or his Department continues to examine and identify the quality, scale and skills requirement at all levels in the educational sector in the future; if discussions have taken place with industry and academia with a view to identifying how best to meet any such requirements emerging; his plans to meet such requirements in the short, medium to long term with particular reference to the recognition of the major role to be played by education towards economic recovery and future development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25922/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The education and training system has a central role to play in the development of workforce and entrepreneurship skills and supporting economic recovery. The enterprise sector is represented on the statutory agencies responsible for curriculum reform and assessment, quality assurance and policy advice across the education system and on the boards of further and higher education institutions and FAS. Input from industry also informs the development of education policy, such as curriculum reform on an ongoing basis. An enterprise engagement forum also provides for regular interaction on between enterprise interests and the Secretary General and senior management team in my Department.

My Department and all of the education and training providers are also represented on the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs and reports from the EGFSN research and analysis from the Strategic Labour Market Research Unit of FAS also inform programme development by education and training providers. There is also close interaction with the enterprise sector in the development of targeted skilling initiatives such as the ICT Skills Action Plan and Springboard.