Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 May 2013
105. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will provide a breakdown of the expected training and development and incidental expenses with a list of the training and development courses he expects officers in his Department to undergo in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24863/13]
View answerI assume the Deputy is referring to a breakdown of the proposed Training & Development expenditure within the Training & Development and Incidental Expenses subhead. In this regard, my Department has a budget allocation of approximately €400,000 for staff training and development in 2013. My Department supports the training and development of staff through formal training and development courses, in-house training, attendance at relevant conferences and seminars, refund of academic fees, and the reimbursement of professional membership fees. The training provided is key to the functioning of the Department and the welfare of staff. The formal training and development courses that staff members in my Department are expected to attend in 2013 include but are not limited to the following:
- Job-specific training i.e. Abseil Access, ArcGIS Geographic Information Mapping Software, Biodiversity Identification, Dangerous Trees Identification, Mountain Skills, Quad training, Raptor Poisoning, Rope Rescue Technician training;
- Business Process Improvement;
- Health and Safety related training i.e. Evac Chair, Fire Safety, Firearm Safety, Manual Handling, Occupational First Aid, Personal Survival Techniques, Safe Pass, Signing, Lighting and guarding at Roadworks, Crisis Prevention;
- Child Protection Guidance;
- Irish Language skills;
- Courtroom Skills;
- ICT training i.e. , Microsoft Office Applications, Microsoft Sharepoint, Website Content Management;
- Corporate, HR and Financial training i.e., Disability Awareness, Financial Management, Freedom of Information, Interview Board training, Management Development, Mediation, Procurement, Professional Services Withholding Tax, Report Writing, Workplace Investigation.
The list includes a number of in-house training courses and training courses run by other public bodies which accrue no direct cost to my Department. For those courses that are procured externally, the Training and Development Unit in my Department ensures that all procedures in relation to procurement are followed.
