Vol. 511 No. 6
75 Ms Shortall asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the plans, if any, under way by her Department to place the local employment service under the remit of FÁS; her views on the impact this will have on the trust which unemployed people have in the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25045/99]
101 Mr. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if the Cabinet has made a decision in relation to the future of the local employment service in view of the annoyance in the partnership companies at the lack of consultations on this matter; and if the Government supports partnership at local and national levels. [24917/99]
127 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the way in which a decision was made on the future of a local employment service (details supplied) in Dublin 10; the reason in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25199/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 75, 101 and 127 together.
Following a lengthy and wide ranging consultation process, the Government decided on 29 March 1999 to implement new operational arrangements for the management, development and delivery of the national employment service function. These included: the assimilation of the local employment service under FÁS, as a discrete component of a more integrated, dual-stranded national employment service, the other component being the existing FÁS employment service; the establishment of an employment service advisory committee within FÁS which will have responsibility for advising the FÁS executive on the operation and development of all components of the national employment service function, including the LES; and membership of the advisory committee to comprise the following representatives drawn from the main FÁS board: one – Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, one – Department of Finance, one – Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs, one – Department of Education and Science, one from IBEC, one from ICTU, and one worker director together with a representative each from INOU, PLANET, the representative body of the Partnerships, ADM and the LES co-ordinators.
Deliberations on how best to implement the Government decision and to put in place practical operational arrangements to assimilate the LES into FÁS are continuing in the Department. That said, I have decided that, in future, FÁS locally will contract directly with each LES to provide a specific service for identified categories of jobseeker. In this connection, each LES is being asked to establish itself as a separate legal entity with which FÁS can contract. As the Deputies are no doubt aware, the existing contractual arrangements in relation to the LES are between my Department and the partnerships.
I am happy that the above arrangements will fully achieve the intention to create a more integrated and focused dual stranded national employment service, which will operate in a co-ordinated and complimentary manner, and best use the resources at its disposal to target and engage with those most in need of assistance. The LES will continue to be informed by local needs as set out in the partnership plans and appropriate liaison arrangements will need to be put in place to ensure effective consultation with the partnerships in the development of employment service plans at local level.
