EMPLOYER AND trade union organisations, who are among a number of groups represented on the board of Fás, are in receipt of large annual payments from the authority for delivery of training, according to documents seen by The Irish Times.
The issue may arise today when the chairman of Fás, former Irish Congress of Trade Unions president Peter McLoone, appears before the Dáil Committee on Public Accounts.
Former director general of Fás Rody Molloy is also to appear before the committee as it continues its inquiries into expenditures.
Employers' group Ibec and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) are among the bodies who received significant sums in 2007 under the competency development programme (CDP), a mechanism through which Fás funds training for people in employment.
The Government provided €35.6 million in additional funding for this area to the authority in 2005, a development that put the training agency under pressure.
"It was agreed that part of the funding should be channelled through larger projects that would be managed by organisations or institutions with the capacity to deliver the required training volumes," according to a Fás internal audit report in June 2007 that examined Fás services to business activity.
Figures seen by The Irish Timesshow that the CDP budget went from €8 million in 2004, to €44.4 million in 2008. The development scheme budget forms part of the services to the business programme and its funding come from the European Social Fund, the National Training Fund and the exchequer.
A total of €42.2 million was spent on the CDP programme last year. Just under 400 private and public sector organisations received payment for providing training under the scheme.
Among those who received funding were: Chambers Ireland, €2.8 million; Construction Industry Federation, €898,270; Ibec, €2 million; Ictu, €832,670; Irish Management Institute, €2,8 million; Irish Small Firms Association, €560,486; Siptu College, €889,336; Siptu/Cif/Batu, €9,934; and Siptu equality unit, €25,015.
The recipients of the funding include a large number of colleges, both private and public, as well as hundreds of private sector firms and companies, including The Irish Times. A tendering system operates.
While it is to be expected that organisations such as these would be involved in the administration of employee training, one source said the figures raise an issue over the type of board the Government appoints to run Fás.
Social partnership groups are both charged by the Government with running Fás, and the recipients of funds administered through Fás.
The board of the training authority is appointed by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. It comprises a chairman, representatives from employer, trade union, education, social welfare and youth interests, a representative of the Minister for Finance, two representatives of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and two Fás employee members.
Staff surveys reveal discontent within Fás
VARYING ESTIMATES on staff opinion at State training and employment agency Fás emerge in three surveys carried out over the past six years.
Two of the surveys, done in 2002 and 2004, were released under the Freedom of Information Act to Fine Gael frontbench spokesman Leo Varadkar, and a more recent study from 2007 has also been seen by The Irish Times.
The 2002 report, titled Organisational Climate Survey, was prepared by Hay Management Consultants of Lr Mount Street, Dublin.
• Only 15 per cent of staff who responded agreed with the statement that, "Poor performance is not tolerated in this organisation"
• Only 25 per cent accepted that "Promotions are conducted in an open and fair manner" and 36 per cent agreed with the statement, "I believe that Fás will act on the findings of this survey".
More positive responses were received to the following statements:
• "I am happy to put in the extra effort when required" (96 per cent);
• "My immediate supervisor/manager treats me with respect" (79 per cent);
• "I get a lot of job satisfaction from the job I do" (69 per cent).
The 2004 survey, which was carried out by the same organisation - by then known as Hay Group (Ireland) - found that
• 30 per cent agreed that "Promotions are conducted in an open and fair manner", compared with 25 per cent two years earlier.
• The statement, "Poor performance is not tolerated in this organisation" was reframed as "Poor performance is tolerated in this organisation" and 61 per cent of respondents agreed with the latter statement.
Other responses included:
• "The work environment encourages openness and honesty" (40 per cent agreed); "People in this organisation are always willing to change in order to meet customer needs" (31 per cent). There were higher levels of agreement to such statements as,
• "I am happy to put in the extra effort when required" (82 per cent); and
• "I understand the Fás policies in relation to bullying and harassment" (68 per cent).
A more recent survey in 2007, details of which were obtained by The Irish Times, was carried out by Capita People Development of London and employed a different methodology from the 2002 and 2004 investigations.
According to this survey,
• "Over 64 per cent of staff in the regional finance and admin units said they are not aware of any change in the provision of promotional opportunities for clerical staff during 2007".
However, the report states that, "All staff felt that good progress and improvements had been made in relation to implementing better health and safety standards within Fás".
Deaglán de Bréadún, Political Correspondent