Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 February 2018
579. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the amount provided in training support grant in each of the years 2015 to 2017, by amount paid, to each supplier of training; the number of training suppliers that are based in Northern Ireland in each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5451/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Training Support Grant (TSG) provided by the Department is designed to fund access to short-term training where this cannot be provided by a state provider within a reasonable time or where a intervention is identified that can support individual jobseekers to access work opportunities.
The scheme is activation focused and the jobseeker is required to provide reasonable evidence or grounds of need (for example in the form of a potential job offer) or a requirement to maintain or achieve accreditation.
The maximum fund available to jobseekers under the scheme is €500 p.a. Access to the scheme is via the Department’s case officers.
The following table provides a breakdown of the total TSG Spend and the number of suppliers based in Northern Ireland for 2015, 2016 and 2017:
|
Year |
Annual TSG expenditure |
Number of training suppliers paid |
Number of suppliers based in Northern Ireland |
|
2015 |
€3,314,562 |
769 |
13 |
|
2016 |
€3,153,623 |
729 |
13 |
|
2017 |
€2,640,704 |
710 |
7 |
Given the volume of data required, the information requested by the Deputy regarding payments made to individual suppliers cannot be compiled in the time available to reply to this parliamentary question. The Department will provide a schedule of payments to each training supplier to the Deputy later this week.
