THE Government has decided not to split up the State employment agency, FAS, overturning one of the proposals originally in a White Paper drawn up by the Department of Enterprise and Employment.
The Irish Times has learned that it has instead decided to create a new subsidiary within FAS, which will be charged with operating a new national manpower service to incorporate local employment services, in an attempt to help more people find jobs. The subsidiary will be within FAS, but will have its own chief executive and the Department of Enterprise and Employment will have an important controlling role.
FAS will, however, lose its responsibility for training employees in industry with this function being transferred to Forbairt, as originally proposed in the White Paper.
At the moment, this training role takes a relatively small part of the annual FAS budget. Details of the new arrangements will be announced shortly by the Government.
The proposed break-up of FAS had proved highly controversial, annoying both the agency and the trade unions, mainly SIPTU, which represents 1,500 of its 2,000 employees.
FAS chief executive, Mr John Lynch, had strongly objected to the proposal, warning that it would affect its efficiency and cost structure. His view is believed to have won some support around the Cabinet table, with the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton, deciding to compromise on his original plan. This led to the proposal to establish a separate subsidiary within FAS, a proposal which has now been agreed.
The establishment of the new manpower service formed a central element of the original recommendations of the forthcoming White Paper on Human Resource Development. The new service was to be a move to expand the existing local employment services across the State. The Government is still likely to pursue this objective but without setting up a separate National Manpower Board to oversee it as originally proposed.
The Government has recently expanded the number of areas covered by the local employment schemes, which already operate in many areas cbaracterised by high unemployment. The schemes' objective to get unemployed people back working again, through counselling, guidance and matching those out of work with available vacancies.
The total cost of the proposals in the White Paper would have run to about £10 million a year.
Business lobby groups have long been anxious to reform the training system and to give employers more control over the State's £460 million a year training budget. They see FAS as a huge organisation which has run out of control.
