Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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1326. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the projections for the future revenue of the national training fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19579/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The National Training Fund (NTF) Act, 2000 provides for a levy on employers to be used to fund the development of and raising of skills amongst those in, or seeking, employment.

Funding from the NTF is allocated by my Department with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, in accordance with the provisions of the National Training Fund Act, 2000.

The NTF levy is collected by the Revenue Commissioners as part of the PRSI collection system. The funds collected is included in the transfer of gross PRSI from the Revenue Commissioners to the Social Insurance Fund of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP). Each year DEASP undertakes an apportionment exercise to analyse PRSI collection data and to apportion funds to the Social Insurance Fund; the Health Levy and the National Training Fund.

Following a consultation process, the Government, as part of Budget 2018, decided to raise the rate of the NTF levy by 0.1% in 2018 to 0.8% and by a further 0.1% in both 2019 and 2020. The increase to the levy was accompanied by a programme of reforms in how the NTF is managed, evaluated and reported on.

The following table shows the forecast of future revenue from PRSI as calculated by the Department of Social Protection in April 2021:

Table 1 – National Training Fund projected future revenue from PRSI

The National Fund also receives income from the European Social Fund (ESF) in respect of ESF co-financed activities that have been pre-financed from the NTF. The level of ESF receipts to the NTF in any year depends on the amounts certified to and reimbursed by the Commission in that year in respect of NTF funded activities. As set out in the Revised Estimates Volume, ESF receipts are forecasted to be circa €28 million for 2021.