Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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207. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a schedule of online and on-street gambling companies that have participated in the skillnets programme in 2018 and to date in 2019; the return amount from learning centres due to underspends in 2018 and to date in 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44326/19]

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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Skillnet Ireland is funded by my Department through the National Training Fund (NTF) to act as an enterprise-led support body dedicated to the promotion and facilitation of enterprise training and workforce development. The NTF is resourced through a levy on employment collected as part of employer PRSI. The primary role of Skillnet Ireland is to increase participation in enterprise training by companies to upskill the workforce and provide greater access for workers to skills development. Skillnet Ireland operates a joint funding model where training is funded by combining contributions from employers with Skillnet grants.

Skillnet Ireland have indicated that staff from three companies in the online and on-street gambling industry participated in training with Skillnet Ireland funded learning networks in 2018 with staff from two companies undertaking training in 2019 to date. All private sector companies are eligible to participate in Skillnet learning networks in order to access upskilling opportunities for their staff.

Of the 65 Skillnet Ireland networks that received grants in 2018, nine networks were required to refund grant payments to Skillnet Ireland due to an underspend. These refunds totalled €163,380 which represent 0.9% of the total 2018 grant issued by Skillnet Ireland for 2018. Any potential grant refunds related to the 2019 funding period will be established after year-end.