Written Answers - FÁS Programmes.
Micheál Martin
Ceist:
257
Mr. Martin
asked the
Minister for Enterprise and Employment
if he will make FÁS schemes and courses available to women who are not on the live register but are anxious to return to the workplace via training and community employment programme schemes and who have been working in the home for a considerable length of time.
[8879/97]
Training programmes run by FÁS, the Employment and Training Authority, are open to all persons who are unemployed and seeking work. Priority of access is, however, given to persons on the live register regardless of their gender.
With regard to community employment, this scheme is geared primarily towards those long-term unemployed who are in receipt of unemployment compensation payments. However, it may also be availed of by certain categories not on the live register such as persons in receipt of lone parents allowance or other special categories such as those registered with the National Rehabilitation Board. A major initiative was taken in April 1996 which enables adult dependants of persons on the live register, who are eligible to participate on the community employment programme, to adopt their partners eligibility and participate in the programme in their place.
Providing priority of access to persons on the live register ensures that those most likely to be in need of the various programmes receive priority attention. Due to budgetary constraints, I consider it unlikely that there will be any alteration to this arrangement in the foreseeable future.
Since 1990, FÁS has administered an Action Programme for Women to maximise the participation of women in all of its programmes and as a result there has been a significant growth in the level of participation by women in FÁS programmes. In 1996, 43 per cent of those who completed a FÁS training programme or a community employment programme were women. FÁS has also been providing courses such as Return to Work and Enterprise Training which have a high proportion of female participation particularly among home makers. In 1996, 1,083 women participated in the return to work scheme and 732 women participated in the enterprise training scheme. In a further response to the need for flexibility in this area, FÁS has advised me that they are currently undertaking a pilot initiative aimed at developing and testing new ways of delivering training for women. This initiative, which is being piloted under the NOW, New Opportunities for Women programme, aims to provide locally-based training in partnership with community groups. This training is delivered in a flexible manner to suit the needs and circumstances of participants.
FÁS is also very conscious of the need for childcare facilities for women returning to work and contributes over £5 million per annum to community based childcare provision by way of support for community employment projects. Over 130 community employment projects have such a childcare dimension. Many of these facilities provide community based childcare for women undertaking training or education and for participants on community employment.
The Partnership 2000 agreement provides for the establishment of a working party representative of Government Departments and the social partners to examine the question of equal access by women to labour market opportunities, including training, education and employment programmes. As a party to the Partnership 2000 agreement the Government recognises that women should not be penalised with regard to the availability of employment supports, including training, and that they should have equal access to all labour market opportunities. It is expected that this working group will be established in the near future.
