Foras Áiseanna Saothair
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| Executive Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | January 1988 |
| Preceding agencies |
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| Dissolved | July 2013 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Jurisdiction | Republic of Ireland |
| Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland |
| Parent department | Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation |
| Key document |
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| Website | FÁS website |
An Foras Áiseanna Saothair (Irish pronunciation: [ən̪ˠ ˈfˠɔrˠəsˠ ˈaːʃʲən̪ˠə ˈsˠiːhəɾʲ]), referred to in English as the Training and Employment Authority and commonly known as FÁS (Irish pronunciation: [faːs]), was a state agency in Ireland with responsibility for assisting those seeking employment. It was established in January 1988 under the Labour Services Act, 1987 [1] and was run by a board appointed by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, composed of employer and trade union representatives.
The authority, whose Irish language 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 ran a number of JobCentres in Ireland to facilitate those seeking employment, however it had occasionally been criticised, not least for the perception that it is simply a scheme to remove people from unemployment statistics – it had also been criticised for the expense of running it at almost €1 billion per annum. The authority ran training courses in various fields, through regional centres, although some of this work was transferred to institutes of technology – including the apprenticeships in various fields that it regulated.
Apprenticeships regulated by FÁS include:
By tradition, the Director General of FÁS is a board member of Forfás. Brian Geoghegan (spouse of Mary Harney, Minister for Health and Children) 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.
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