Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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1252. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the total cost of education and training measures in the July 2020 Jobs Stimulus package; the components of the July education and training measures in the July 2020 Jobs Stimulus package which will be covered by Ireland’s REACT EU 2021 allocation of €88 million; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39584/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The 2020 July Stimulus provided for total investment of €100m in education and training measures. The Further Education and Training measures included the Skills to Compete programme; the Apprenticeship Incentivisation Scheme and Skillnet Ireland activation programmes. The Higher Education measures included additional places on Springboard+ and Human Capital Initiative Pillar 1 programmes; postgraduate skills provision and modular skills provision. This investment has been supplemented by the Budget measures announced last October.

The initial tranche of REACT EU funding of €88m will be allocated to the ESF Operational Programme, managed by the ESF Managing Authority in my Department. Discussions are ongoing with the European Commission and with relevant Agencies to finalise the specific measures to be funded. It is expected that REACT EU will support measures under the July Stimulus, as well as measures to assist the transition to online and blended learning in the Higher and Further Education Sector.

An amendment of the ESF Operational Programme is currently being prepared and will be submitted to the ESF Programme Monitoring Committee and to the European Commission, in the near future.