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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 12 Mar 1997

Vol. 476 No. 3

Written Answers. - Departmental Policies.

Helen Keogh

Ceist:

145 Ms Keogh asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the mechanisms used by his Department to ensure that policies, programmes and decisions are proofed to assess their impact on women; the training available to those officials responsible for gender proofing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7002/97]

I am concerned to ensure that the policies and programmes operated by and under the aegis of my Department are equally open to all who qualify, regardless of gender. Equality of opportunity is a fundamental imperative of my Department's strategy for promoting employment.

All new proposals from my Department which are submitted by me to Government for approval include a gender impact statement. Observations from other Ministers, including the Minister for Equality and Law Reform, are also fully taken into account in the development of new proposals.

No specific training is given in my Department in respect of gender proofing per se but I am satisfied that due account is paid to the likely impact on women of various proposals arising. It is no more than I would expect and demand of an equal opportunity organisation.

The Deputy will be particularly interested to learn that FÁS is currently operating a pilot gender-proofing project part-funded by Employment — NOW, which aims at piloting and implementing a gender proofing system linked into the quality mark. FÁS is collaborating with the Irish Quality Association in developing an equality dimension for inclusion in the Irish business excellence model. Quality audits have been undertaken. Two locations are piloting the initiative both of which already have been awarded the quality mark.

Helen Keogh

Ceist:

146 Ms Keogh asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the initiatives, if any, taken by his Department in 1995 and 1996 which were targeted at women; the budget allocated to each initiative; the actual amount spent on each; the budget for his Department in each of the years 1995 and 1996; and the amount of that budget exclusive of direct staffing and overhead costs. [7018/97]

In accordance with the Government's programme, set out in A Government of Renewal, the first priority in labour market policy is given to the long-term unemployed. To facilitate women in benefiting fully from these programmes I have ensured that the main labour market programmes, community employment and the jobs initiative, can also be accessed by adult dependents of the long-term unemployed and that persons in receipt of one parent allowance may also qualify for assistance through Job-Start and Work-Place.

In general the enterprise strategy of my Department and its agencies is focused on companies rather than individuals. However, in the normal course of their business the industrial development agencies seek to ensure that any individual programmes are equally accessible to male and female applicants. For instance within Forbairt initiatives have recently been taken to ensure that the Techstart-Techman and Applied Research Grant scheme are made more accessible to women.

Since 1990 FÁS has had in place an annual Action Programme for Women — Woman in Focus. This programme has the following objectives: to promote actively the breaking down of traditional patterns of occupational segregation by encouraging increased female participation in sectors of the labour market traditionally dominated by men; to promote actively the participation of women at all levels in growing, future-oriented sectors of the labour market including technical and managerial occupations in order to achieve better use of human resources, and to promote actively the upgrading of existing skills levels among women.

The approach adopted in this programme is a target-based one which has focused on programmes where women have traditionally been under represented. Each year targets have been set on an incremental basis in order to achieve an increased level of women's participation. This programme has been successful and 43 per cent of participants on FÁS programmes in 1996 were women. The equivalent figure for 1990 was 32 per cent.

The focus of this annual programme has been to ensure that women's participation in FÁS programmes is mainstreamed. In 1995, £125.351 million direct expenditure was spent on women and in 1996 the equivalent figure was £150.293 million.
In addition, in 1996 FÁS operated two NOW projects — aimed at women — and funding for these projects was to the sum of £139,555. EMPLOYMENT — NOW; New Opportunities for Women, is a European Union programme administered by my Department. Its aims are to help reduce unemployment among women and improve the position of those already in the workforce through the promotion of equal opportunities strategies. Following a public call for project proposals in 1995, 39 pilot projects have been funded, to run up to the end of 1997. The total EU budget for the period is £6.5 million approximately and with matching funding at 25 per cent the total value of the programme is £8.7 million.
The county enterprise boards are encouraged to develop initiatives, in the context of their enterprise plans, which contribute to greater involvement of women in enterprise. Examples of support for women's enterprises are contained in the report of City and County Enterprise Board Activities, 1993-95, which I launched yesterday. The position in relation to 1996 will be addressed in a further report.
In light of the foregoing the Deputy will appreciate that there is no specific budget for initiatives targeted at women as the intention is that women should have equal access to funding.
Full details of my Department's expenditure for the years 1995 and 1996, including staffing and ovehead costs, may be found in the Book of Estimates for each year which is, of course, available in the Oireachtas Library.
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