Since the transfer of FÁS and its functions under the previous Government, my Department has had no direct involvement in the setting up of SOLAS or of the National Employment and Entitlements Service (NEES). Primary responsibility for these bodies now comes within the remit respectively of my colleagues the Minister for Education and Skills and, the Minister for Social Protection.
Naturally, given my wider interest in job creation overall and, specifically in the context of the Action Plan for Jobs, I retain an interest in progress being made by SOLAS and the NEES in this regard. To this end, Government is regularly briefed on developments by my ministerial colleagues.