Liz McManus
Ceist:102 Ms McManus asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the proposals, if any, she has for the future of the local employment service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8016/00]
Written Answers. - Local Employment Service.
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 IBEC, one 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.
It was also agreed that the advisory committee will include a representative from the FÁS executive, most likely from the employment services side.
This integration between the FÁS employment service and the LES, apart from having been advocated in various evaluation reports in recent years, has been endorsed in the current new social partnership agreement.
If the benefits of assimilation are to be fully secured there must be clear lines of responsibility and authority. With this in mind, I instructed FÁS to consult each partnership with a view to putting in place the administrative structures which will achieve co-ordinated transparent and accountable management of the service so that the LES can deliver an effective and efficient service to its clients. My Department has now clarified a number of outstanding issues with FÁS and has asked it, while having due regard to the distinctive local characteristics, to expedite its consultations with the partnerships. I look forward to early progress in this area.