Foras Áiseanna Saothair
Encyclopedia
An Foras Áiseanna Saothair (ən forəs aːʃʲənə siːhəɾʲ), referred to in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 as the Training and Employment Authority and commonly known as FÁS (faːs), is a state agency in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 with responsibility for assisting those seeking employment
Job hunting
Job hunting, job seeking, or job searching is the act of looking for employment, due to unemployment or discontent with a current position. The immediate goal of job seeking is usually to obtain a job interview with an employer which may lead to getting hired...

. It was established in January 1988 under the Labour Services Act, 1987 http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1987_15.html and is run by a board appointed by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ireland)
The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is the senior minister at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in the Government of Ireland.The current Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is Richard Bruton, TD...

, composed of employer and trade union representatives.

Overview

The authority, whose Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

 name literally translates as "the Labour Facilities Foundation", was the successor to An Chomhairle Oiliúna ("the training council", commonly referred to as AnCO), the National Manpower Service and the Youth Employment Agency. The Irish word fás formed by the acronym means "growth", and the authority was created in 1980s Ireland during the long economic downturn of the time.

The authority runs a number of JobCentres in Ireland to facilitate those seeking employment, however it has occasionally been criticised, not least for the perception that it is simply a scheme to remove people from unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...

 statistics - it has also been criticised for the expense of running it at almost €1 billion per annum. The authority runs training courses in various fields, through regional centres, although some of this work is being transferred to institutes of technology
Regional Technical College
An Institute of Technology or IT is a type of further education college found in Ireland. There are a total of fourteen colleges that use the title of Institute of Technology, which were created from the late 1960s and were formerly known as Regional Technical Colleges...

 - including the apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...

s in various fields that it regulates currently.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships regulated by FÁS include:
  • Agricultural Mechanic
  • Aircraft Mechanic
  • Brick and Stonelaying
  • Cabinet Making
  • Carpentry and Joinery
  • Construction plant fitting
    Construction plant fitting in Ireland
    The trade of construction plant fitting in Ireland is essentially the training of mechanics who specialise in working on the type of machinery found on building sites...

  • Electrical
  • Electrical Instrumentation
  • Electronic Security Systems
  • Fitting
  • Floor and Wall Tiling
  • Heavy Vehicle Mechanics
  • Industrial Insulation
  • Instrumentation
  • Metal Fabrication
  • Motor Mechanics
  • Painting and Decorating
  • Plastering
  • Plumbing
  • Print Media
  • Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
  • Sheet Metalworking
  • Toolmaking
  • Vehicle Body Repairs
  • Wood Machining

  • Geoghegan controversy

    By tradition, the Director General of FÁS is a board member of Forfás
    Forfás
    Forfás is the national policy advisory board for enterprise, trade, science, technology and innovation in the Republic of Ireland. The agency was established in January 1994 under the and is run by a board appointed by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, to whom the agency is...

    . Brian Geoghegan (spouse of Mary Harney
    Mary Harney
    Mary Harney is a former Irish politician. She served as Tánaiste from 1997–2006, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from 1997–2004, and as Minister for Health and Children from 2004 to 2011...

    , Minister for Health & Children
    Minister for Health and Children (Ireland)
    The Minister for Health is the senior minister at the Department of Health in the Government of Ireland and is responsible for health care in the Republic of Ireland and related services.The current Minister for Health is James Reilly, TD...

    ) retired as Chairman of FÁS at the end of 2005 and was replaced by Peter McLoone. There had been some controversy regarding Geoghegan's position when it emerged he was also a board member of IBEC, the employer's union of Ireland. IBEC have been critical of FÁS at times claiming, at various intervals, that some FÁS courses and schemes are a waste of money, taking potential employees off the live register who could otherwise be employed in mainstream positions. The fact that Geoghegan is married to Minister Mary Harney, who was formerly the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, led to some claims he had a conflict of interest.

    2008 expenditure controversy

    In September 2008, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment
    Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ireland)
    The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is the senior minister at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in the Government of Ireland.The current Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is Richard Bruton, TD...

     Mary Coughlan announced that the Comptroller and Auditor General would undertake an investigation of FÁS expenditure in light of what she saw as the evident public disquiet on the issue. The annual budget for FÁS at the time was around €1 billion. In November 2008, The Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) also began an investigation. However, it was information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by journalist and Senator Shane Ross
    Shane Ross
    Shane Peter Nathaniel Ross is an independent Irish politician and Business Editor of the Sunday Independent. He was the longest-serving member of Seanad Éireann , until he was elected to Dáil Éireann for the constituency of Dublin South at the 2011 general election.-Early life and career:Born in...

     which he published in the Sunday Independent
    Sunday Independent
    The Sunday Independent is a broadsheet Sunday newspaper published in Ireland by Independent News and Media plc. The newspaper is edited by Aengus Fanning, and is the biggest selling Irish Sunday newspaper by a large margin ; average circulation of 291,323 between June 2004 and January 2005,...

     that brought the FÁS expenditure controversy
    2008 FÁS expenditure controversy
    The FÁS expenditure controversy is an ongoing incident in Ireland in November/December 2008 in which significant public and political outcry has been roused, and at least one senior figure of a government organisation has resigned...

     to a head.

    The documents obtained by Senator Ross showed that some €643,000 had been spent over the course of four years on transatlantic travel promoting the agency's Science Challenge Programme. The expenses included items such as first class air fares, business class air fares and fares paid for by FAS for spouses, rounds of golf as well as nail and beauty treatment. It also revealed that three Government ministers and two junior ministers had attended in that time for inconsequential reasons .

    This revelation caused major controversy and pressure was brought to bear on FÁS Director General Roddy Molloy to resign, although Taoiseach
    Taoiseach
    The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...

     Brian Cowen
    Brian Cowen
    Brian Cowen is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 7 May 2008 to 9 March 2011. He was head of a coalition government led by Fianna Fáil which until 23 January 2011 had the support of the Green Party and independent TDs.Cowen was also leader of Fianna Fáil from 7 May...

     spoke in support of Molloy both publicly and in the Dáil. Molloy went so far as to appear on the Pat Kenny
    Pat Kenny
    Patrick "Pat" Kenny is an Irish broadcaster and former disc jockey and continuity announcer. He is employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is their highest paid presenter. He presents Today with Pat Kenny on RTÉ Radio 1 each weekday morning between 10:00 and midday...

     Show on RTÉ
    RTE
    RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...

     Radio 1 to defend the expenses incurred.

    However, under ever increasing pressure, Molloy resigned as Director General on 25 November 2008.

    In September 2009 the board announced it would resign and the Irish Times announced that legislation to restructure the organisation was expected in the following four weeks.

    The report into the breakdown of internal controls in FÁS by the Comptroller and Auditor General was published in 2010.

    Dissolution

    In July 2011 the Minister for Education and Skills announced that FÁS would be replaced by a new agency, named SOLAS, that would have responsibility for all public funding of further education and training. The training function of FÁS will be absorbed into the restructured local Vocational Education Committee
    Vocational Education Committee
    A Vocational Education Committee is a statutory local education body in the Republic of Ireland that administers some secondary education, most adult education and a very small amount of primary education in the state...

    s.
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