Written answers
Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Department of Education and Skills
Health and Safety
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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1051. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of approved safepass organisations providing safepass training for each of the years 2018 to 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1661/23]
Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Safe Pass training and assessment is delivered by SOLAS Approved Training Organisations (ATOs) and tutors. All SOLAS approved Safe Pass providers are independent commercial entities.
The number of training organisations approved to provide Safe Pass training for 2022 is 65. The number of approved organisations has increased year-on-year from 2018, except for 2021.
| Year: | Number of Training Organisations approved to provide Safe Pass Courses: |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 59 |
| 2019 | 62 |
| 2020 | 64 |
| 2021 | 63 |
| 2022 | 65 |
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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1052. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of safepasses that were certified for each of the years 2018 to 2022; his plans, if any, to increase the volume of certified safe passes to be granted in 2023; if he will address the delays in accessing safepass courses and registration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1662/23]
Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Safe Pass card applications and registrations are processed on demand. SOLAS has and will continue to have the capacity to meet demand. There is currently no delay in the processing of Safe Pass cards.
Safe Pass training and assessment is delivered by SOLAS Approved Training Organisations (ATOs) and tutors. These are private providers. As it is a demand-led programme, class sizes vary. Safe Pass tutors generally teach anything between 10 to 20 participants, depending on the demand. SOLAS is not experiencing any backlog regarding Safe Pass training provision.
As illustrated below, the processing and issuing of Safe Pass cards increased by 11% in 2021 with a further increase of 36% in 2022 resulting is a 46% increase from 2020 to 2022.
| Year | Number of new Safe Pass cards issued |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 105,361 |
| 2019 | 108,612 |
| 2020 | 70,780 |
| 2021 | 79,807 |
| 2022 | 125,141 |
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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1053. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the oversight he has in the pricing of safepass courses and to account for the significant increase in cost in accessing some safepass courses over the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1663/23]
Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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SOLAS has no role in the setting of fees for Safe Pass courses. All SOLAS approved Safe Pass course providers are independent commercial entities. Safe Pass course fees are determined by market forces and, as such, are a matter for each approved Safe Pass course provider. SOLAS does not receive any financial contribution from approved Safe Pass course providers in respect of course fees. However, Safe Pass course providers are required to provide SOLAS with €32 for the processing, manufacturing and distribution of Safe Pass cards.
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