Vol. 502 No. 3
554 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if staff members of his Department have received funding to attend courses; if so, the number of courses attended; the names of the courses; and the amount paid since June 1997. [7592/99]
In its strategy statement, my Department has set as its organisational goal "to equip the Department with the necessary resources, skills, competencies and internal support structures and systems to achieve the mission and to deliver quality customer services".
In this context, staff who, in their own time, pursue a course of education relevant to their employment have their fees refunded in respect of the course, provided that their attendance at or participation in the course is satisfactory, that they undergo all relevant examinations and prescribed tests and that necessary funds are available.
Since my Department was established in July 1997, refunds of fees have been made in the case of ten staff in respect of the following courses: MA in public management, MBS in strategic international marketing, certified diploma in accounting and finance, diploma in word processing, supervisory management studies, graduate diploma in public administration, two national certificates in public management, MSc in economics and policy studies and BSc in information systems. The amount refunded in respect of these courses was £13,971.
In addition, my Department has undertaken to refund seven staff in respect of the following courses being attended in the current academic year; BA in public management, BBS, two MAs in public management, national certificate in public management, MSC in economics and the CIPFA programme. The Department has undertaken to refund £13,182 in respect of these courses for the 1998 academic year.
In pursuit of its organisational goal, my Department has also arranged and paid for a wide range of training courses for staff at all levels since July 1997. These include courses on such topics as quality customer service, foreign languages, Government accounting, effective meetings, interpersonal skills, writing skills, presentation skills, the legislative process, management development, freedom of information, euro changeover, information technology, records management and change management.
