Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 October 2010
155 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills her views on the recent announcement regarding a private training company (details supplied); if the company has been investigated by FÁS and FETAC, the results of such investigations and the actions taken; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37387/10]
View answerThe provider in question was first registered as a FETAC accredited provider in 2006, providing courses in such areas as child care, health care, psychology, business and finance. Monitoring inspections of the provider were conducted by FETAC in January and December 2009, with a follow-up meeting held in July 2010. The monitoring visits identified significant areas for improvement.
FETAC suspended the provider's access to certification on 13 September 2010, pending the completion of the monitoring process. FETAC also advised the provider not to enrol any new learners on programmes leading to FETAC Awards. The provider was given until 30 September to confirm with evidence that it was in full compliance with all requirements and to furnish a report to FETAC.
Information from the provider was received by the deadline, but, having considered the information, FETAC decided to continue the suspension of certification as issues regarding quality assurance procedures had not been satisfactorily resolved. This resulted in a suspension notice being placed on FETAC's website on 7 October. FETAC was notified on 10 October that the provider has ceased trading.
FETAC-registered providers, delivering programmes of 3 months duration or more on a commercial and profit making basis, are required to have policy and procedures for the Protection for Learners, aimed at ensuring that there are adequate arrangements in place in the event of a provider ceasing operations. Such arrangements can include having an agreement in place with at least 2 other providers, to enable learners to transfer to continue their programmes should the provider cease operation. FETAC is now examining the protection for learners arrangements in place for the provider in question and will assist affected learners as much as possible.
Separately, following an anonymous allegation of malpractice against the provider made to Skillnets Limited in February 2010, Skillnets Limited investigated the matter and subsequently put in place certain strengthened control measures from its own perspective. Skillnets Limited also promptly informed the Department, FAS, FETAC and the Comptroller and Auditor General upon receiving the anonymous allegation and where its subsequent investigations indicated potential fraudulent activity, it duly informed the Garda authorities. The matter is covered in chapter 29 of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2009.
FETAC assisted Skillnets Limited with its investigation of the allegation of malpractice and also reported the findings to the Comptroller and Auditor General.
An investigation conducted by FÁS' Internal Audit Unit into concerns regarding training provided by the company in question commenced on 13 May 2010. Payments due to the company concerned totalling €50,820 are currently being retained by FÁS. FÁS has held meetings with representatives of the company following learner and employer validation checks on a sample of claims funded by the Agency. It has also held a number of meetings with FETAC to establish the certification status of all learners on the sampled claims funded by FÁS where it was declared to the Agency that FETAC certification was being sought by the company in question. The investigation is ongoing and is expected to conclude in the coming weeks.
