Certification body has 'hard questions' to answer on Fás

SUSPENSION OF certification of Fás courses by Fetac (Further Education and Training Awards Council) has left many questions to be answered, according to members of the Opposition.

Fergus O’Dowd of Fine Gael and Ruairí Quinn of Labour were commenting following confirmation that a national investigation of Fás courses was under way.

The investigation follows discovery of irregularities in relation to courses in the northeast.

News of the investigation led to immediate expressions of concern by groups representing the unemployed and trainees on Fás courses. It is thought that up to 1,000 trainees may be currently without certification for the courses they attended.

As part of its investigation, Fetac is visiting all 17 Fás centres from which certificates are requested. Fetac said it had already visited six centres and it expected to complete its investigation by the end of the month, after which it would decide on the appropriate action.

Mr O’Dowd called for both the initial and wider investigation findings and positions of both parties to be made public. He said in the longer term Fás would have to be “abolished”. He said it was “ time for a one-stop shop for getting people back to work to take its place”.

Mr Quinn said establishing a new training agency “must be one of the first tasks of the new government” because of the need to be able to provide reliable qualifications to people who are unemployed or in search of new skills.

But he said Fetac also had “hard questions to answer”.

He asked why the training certification body did not suspend certification almost a year ago, “when questions about Fás were first being asked. It seems that they have been asleep at the wheel for quite some time. I am calling on the board of Fetac to indicate when they expect to publish the findings of their investigation as soon as possible.”

Michael McLoughlin of Youth Work Ireland said the revelations illustrated a serious failing in systems at Fás and may “undermine faith in training”.

“Training and education courses are next to useless” without a proper and robust system of certification that is respected by all. Bríd O’Brien of the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed said it was imperative that people get their certificates and that there is no issue about their validity.

Tánaiste Mary Coughlan has said she intends to replace Fás.