Dinny McGinley
Ceist:15 Mr. McGinley asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the bodies under her aegis that are being considered for amalgamation, modification or closure. [4198/98]
Other Questions. - State Agencies.
P. J. Sheehan
Ceist:33 Mr. Sheehan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the bodies under her aegis that are being considered for amalgamation, modification or closure. [4200/98]
Austin Currie
Ceist:70 Mr. Currie asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the bodies under her aegis that are being considered for amalgamation, modification or closure. [4197/98]
Denis Naughten
Ceist:86 Mr. Naughten asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the bodies under her aegis that are being considered for amalgamation, modification or closure. [4199/98]
Eamon Gilmore
Ceist:88 Mr. Gilmore asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the proposals, if any, she has for the establishment of a new State agency combining the functions of Forbairt, an Bord Tráchtála, and the business training element of FÁS; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4063/98]
Nora Owen
Ceist:118 Mrs. Owen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the bodies under her aegis which are being considered for amalgamation, modification or closure. [4342/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 33, 70, 86, 88 and 118 together.
The Government has decided to establish a new client centred support structure for indigenous enterprise involving the creation of a new support agency. An Bord Tráchtála and relevant elements of Forbairt and FÁS will be incorporated into the new agency. These are the bodies under the aegis of my Department which I am proposing to restructure.
The policy basis for restructuring is set out in a briefing document entitled New Support Structures for Enterprise Development — the Issues and Concepts Outlined. Copies of this document have been placed in the Oireachtas Library for the information of Members. The document summarises the analysis and proposals brought forward by the high level group which advised me on the rationale and need for the new structures.
When it was first mooted that An Bord Tráchtála and Forbairt would be amalgamated in some form, there was some indication that An Bord Tráchtála was not very happy. Is the Minister satisfied that the wisdom of this amalgamation has been accepted by An Bord Tráchtála and that the board is satisfied that its functions as outlined will be properly carried out under a bigger combined board?
I cannot be satisfied that the board is satisfied. I do not think the board ever made a decision in relation to this matter. I met the chairman and the chief executive of the board on a number of occasions, and other board members made contact with me, in relation to this matter. To some extent the Deputy is asking me to apply 20:20 vision five years down the road. When it was proposed to establish the IDA as a stand-alone agency in 1993, there was much criticism of that. People felt it was the wrong strategy. In hindsight that has proved to be extremely successful. The fact that it has a sole focus, which is selling Ireland and bringing in foreign and direct investment into the Irish economy, has meant that its performance has been extraordinary. It is currently attracting 16 per cent of all of the greenfield projects coming out of the United States into Europe, even though we have less than 1 per cent of the European population. I believe that when an agency is given a clear focus, a clear mandate, and knows what it is supposed to do, we get better results than we do from the diverse and diffuse functions which the different agencies have at the moment. To some extent we have to wait and see. I firmly believe the approach is the right one, that we will get better value for taxpayers' money. The small firms, the ones that do not have the competency or the wherewithal internally to access the various State agency schemes at the moment, are the ones that need help most. They in particular can be targeted. I believe that, in time, that will prove to be extremely successful.
Did the Minister consider including the county enterprise boards and the various developmental agencies, such as Leader and the partnership boards, in her high level review? In other words, is she intending to have a comprehensive review? If she were reviewing the operation of the enterprise boards, would she agree that the kind of finance that is provided to the four Dublin boards per capita is outrageously low? In her own area of South Dublin and in my area of Dublin City and Fingal we tend to get roughly the same amount of finance as areas which have a quarter or one tenth of our population. Would the Minister agree that she should look at that area as well?
The county enterprise boards have a particular function. They deal very much with micro-enterprises and are essentially involved with local development. The Minister of State, Deputy Treacy, has responsibility for developing the potential of the enterprise boards around the country, and that involves local initiatives. What we are talking about here is supporting the development of Irish firms that have to export product not just into the UK market where many of them are too heavily concentrated at the moment, but into the wider European and international market. Perhaps in time we could look at the role of the county enterprise boards. However, we have to begin somewhere, and it is right that we should concentrate on the companies that currently are the responsibility of An Bord Tráchtála and Forbairt rather than widen their remit to include literally everything. The county enterprise boards are in their infancy in terms of their potential and whether they continue in their present format is a matter for Government decision. It would be premature to bring all this under the umbrella of one national agency given that the purpose of the boards is essentially to grow and develop micro enterprises at local level.
On the creation of a new State agency incorporating the business training element of FÁS, is it true that only 6 per cent of unemployed persons have contact with FÁS? In light of this amalgamation and the skills shortage, does the Minister propose to enable unemployed people gain more support from FÁS? Will she confirm that the apprenticeship system is such that FÁS cannot keep up with the demand and that some apprentices have to wait for a year and a half before they receive training? Will the Minister give a guarantee to improve these positions?
On the element of FÁS which will be incorporated into the new agency, between 60 and 70 people work in this division which devises training programmes for industry. It is a very small part of an organisation which has more than 2,000 people.
There is much in what the Deputy said. FÁS must concentrate on equipping those who are unemployed, particularly the long-term unemployed, with the skills which will enable them obtain jobs in the labour market. Unfortunately, FÁS's role has been somewhat diffuse in recent years. My predecessor prepared a White Paper on human resource development and we are examining the most effective way of implementing many of its fine recommendations.
In fairness to it, FÁS increased the number of people on the community employment scheme to 41,000 over a relatively short period. This has involved massive organisation and readjustment on its part. The community employment scheme has two functions, social economy and training for the labour market.
We need to look more clearly at the focus of our training agency. The new board of FÁS was recently appointed. I had a policy decision sent to the chairman and the board so that the members would be aware of what the Government expects of them. This will be helpful as it is unfair for a State agency not to know what the people for whom it is working, the Government and the public, expect of it. The function of the agency is to implement the policy of Government. We will be able, with some changes, to get a more effective response from the training agency.
I am aware there are gaps in apprenticeship training. To some extent we have become victims of rapid growth, particularly in the construction industry. It has been very difficult for the training agency to keep apace with the developments on the ground, but we will be able, with some adjustments, to deal with the gaps. We also want to develop the concept of traineeship, which is very different from apprenticeship. There is a commitment to increase the number of traineeships to 5,000 over a short period. I hope we can achieve this as it will provide opportunities.
Approximately 70 per cent of those who do FÁS training courses gain access to employment. This is a very good record given the large number of people for whom FÁS has to provide. However, the priority must be to improve on this, particularly for the long-term unemployed.