Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 18 Feb 1993

Vol. 426 No. 3

Written Answers. - Skills Register.

Liz O'Donnell

Ceist:

21 Ms O'Donnell asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the steps, if any, he intends taking to establish a skills register of all those obtaining unemployment benefits and unemployment assistance in view of the unprecedented levels of unemployment and the stated need to effect dramatic changes therein; the statistical refinements he will introduce to clearly show boundaries between cities and counties, and between each county in view of the fact that such information is not available from local employment exchanges or the Central Statistics Office.

Minister for Enterprise and Employment (Mr. Quinn)

I have no plans to establish a special skills register of all those obtaining unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance.

The existing liaison arrangements between FÁS and the Department of Social Welfare are sufficiently developed to ensure that information is available to FÁS on the skill levels of the majority of persons in receipt of unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance. FÁS supplements the information on work history and job classification available to the Department of Social Welfare through its own registration process with information relating to qualifications, skill levels etc.

This information assists FÁS to fill vacancies notified to it and to operate its training and employment schemes within established budgets to best effect having regard to levels of registered unemployment and the numbers registering with FÁS who are not in receipt of unemployment compensation.

The publication of data on the Live Register is the responsibility of the Central Statistics Office under the Department of the Taoiseach. If the Deputy has specific suggestions for change in the methods of compilation of Live Register data, I will consider these and take the matter up with the Central Statistics Office.