Vol. 472 No. 4
132 Mrs. O'Rourke asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the reason for the delay in the publication of his proposed White Paper on training which, under the programme, A Government of Renewal, was promised would be published at an early date. [23539/96]
The White Paper on training, now to be entitled a White Paper on Human Resources Development, to take into account the fact that its perspective has been broadened beyond the narrow concept of training, will be one of a number of key national strategy papers which will constitute the framework, and focus for employment policy into the next century.
The importance of the human resources factor in this overall framework cannot be underestimated and so, in an effort to ensure that our strategies in this regard are cohesive and realistic, my Department has undertaken careful examination of the current state of play regarding human resources development issues, and has investigated where national policy in this regard should lead in the future. To assist in this work, numerous consultations with interested parties were conducted throughout the past year. As a result, the drafting process has been extremely time-consuming. I am, however, pleased to inform the Deputy that the paper is in its final stages of preparation, and I hope to be in a position to have the finalised document submitted to Government for approval early in the new year.
