asked the Minister for Labour if AnCo are involved in any cross-Border training courses.
Ceisteanna—Questions . Oral Answers . - AnCO Training Courses .
1.
: AnCO are currently involved in a cross-Border training project financed jointly by the Department of Manpower Services of Northern Ireland and AnCO. The project is an experiment in North-South co-operation in the field of youth employment. It brings together 12 young unemployed people from disadvantaged backgrounds, six from Dublin and six from Omagh, to better equip them to search for employment and to further their understanding of, and relationship with, those from a different political, social and cultural background. During the project the young people spend half their time in Omagh and half in Dublin.
The present project started in January and followed the completion of an initial project at the end of 1981 when a training workshop was organised in conjunction with two voluntary organisations, namely the Omagh Community Development Association and the Hope Organisation of Dublin.
: Is it proposed to continue with this programme with particular reference to Donegal which is geographically north and politically South? It is more important that the Minister refers to Donegal so as to help cross-Border relations as well as cross-Border training programmes.
: The details of the operation of AnCO are a matter for the council of that body but the results of this initial project are very encouraging. I have no doubt that the remarks made by the Deputy will be taken into account.
: Will the Minister give a commitment to look at Donegal in particular and at the other Border counties for further cross-Border programmes?
: As I indicated, this was the first such project and the results were most encouraging. That is so particularly if one takes into account the background of the people involved. The situation was that some 75 per cent of the young people involved in that project went on to secure employment or further training opportunities and that was regarded as most satisfactory particularly having regard to the difficult background from which they came. The fact that that first project was so successful certainly points the way to further co-operation.
: If I bring to the attention of the Minister courses or training programmes suitable for Donegal will he investigate them?
: I will be delighted to do that.
2.
asked the Minister for Labour AnCO's policy in relation to the Gweedore training centre in view of the new training centre at Letterkenny, County Donegal.
: The AnCO training centre at Gweedore is a permanent centre and AnCO intend to retain it as such. When the new centre in Letterkenny is completed, the Gweedore centre will cater for Gaeltacht areas on a national basis as well as, of course, people from non-Gaeltacht areas who express a preference to take courses through Irish.
3.
asked the Minister for Labour the number of trainees and apprenticeships catered for in Gweedore training centre, County Donegal during 1982.
: During 1982 AnCO trained 39 off-the-job apprentices and one redundant apprentice from their Gweedore centre. AnCO also catered for 170 trainees on courses in the centre and organised training for 381 trainees on "Introduction to Industry" courses mainly from a mobile training unit and on projects under the Community Youth Training Programme.
These numbers cover the trainees and apprentices who completed training during 1982. In addition, at the end of 1982, 37 apprentices and 81 trainees were on courses in the Gweedore centre and 59 trainees were on projects under the Community Youth Training Programme.
: I should like to ask the Minister if the fact that the new centre at Letterkenny will open later this year will affect the number of trainees and apprentices to be catered for at the Gweedore centre?
: The intention is that when Letterkenny is fully operative Gweedore will cater for the Gaeltacht areas on a national basis as well as for those from any place else who wish to pursue a course through the Irish language. That means that there will be some extra spaces available to be taken up by people outside the immediate area of Gweedore.
: May I take it that the Gweedore centre will not be exclusively Irish and that there will be places there for trainees who wish to pursue courses through English, particularly those who come from the Rosses, Cloughaneely, Gweedore and west Donegal in general?
: The intention is that the Letterkenny centre will cater for the English speaking people of Donegal while the Gweedore centre will cater for the needs of the Gaeltacht throughout the country and those whose choice it is to pursue a course through Irish.
: Am I correct in thinking that Gweedore will be exclusively Irish and Letterkenny will be exclusively English? Does it follow that students from Gweedore, the Rosses and west Donegal generally who want to pursue a course in English must go to Letterkenny, while people in Letterkenny who wish to do a course in Irish must go to Gweedore? It would cost the Department much more money to bring the young people out of their own areas.
: The project for Gweedore has been pursued in close co-operation with Údarás na Gaeltachta and it responds to a perceived need for a training centre catering not just for the needs of the Gweedore Gaeltacht but for the Gaeltacht nationally.