Frances Fitzgerald
Ceist:50 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise and Employment the training initiatives, if any, she intends to develop to enable single parents to combine work and family responsibilities. [13824/97]
Written Answers. - Training Initiatives.
I suggest that the issue of combining work, or indeed access to training initiatives, and family responsibilities applies generally to women with families and there are a number of initiatives already in place which seek to address the problems which can arise.
FÁS is currently supporting a "Local Action for Women" initiative under the European Union NOW Programme. This programme aims to develop and test flexible methods of providing training and employment services to women at a local level. This involves the delivery of modular training in partnership with local groups for women who wish to return to work, including lone parents. There is flexibility in both the timing and location of such training to suit the particular needs and circumstances of the participants. There are four pilot locations, Tipperary, Clonmel, Athlone and Portlaoise. An example of such training for lone parents is the south Tipperary lone parent initiative based in Clonmel which focuses on the specific training needs of lone parents.
On completion of the pilot phase of the initiative at the end of 1997, FÁS and my Department will be looking at ways and means by which its beneficial elements can be mainstreamed to other training and employment programmes.
FÁS is also very conscious of the need for child care facilities for women returning to work and contributes over £5 million per annum to community based child care provision by way of support for community employment projects. Over 130 community employment projects have such a child care provision. Many of these facilities provide community based child care for women undertaking training or education. As stated in the recent White Paper on Human Resource Development, FÁS and the employment service will, in conjunction with area partnerships, further develop child care opportunities in order to increase the facilities available to women who wish to enter training or education programmes or to take up employment. These measures will be of assistance not alone to single parents but to all women in achieving equal access to training and employment.