Allen asks why Government did not apply for €211m EU fund

THE chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has called on the Government to explain why it has not applied for any of the €211 million in European funding available to the State training agency, Fás.

Last night Fine Gael TD Bernard Allen said it was “strange at a time of cutbacks” that the Department of Education, under whose remit Fás falls, had not applied to the European Social Fund (ESF) for any of the €200 million plus available to it for the period 2007 to 2013.

“At a time of cutbacks and when the Government is borrowing money at huge interest rates, it is odd that they are not drawing down money available from the ESF that could benefit training and education programmes at a time when so many people are unemployed,” Mr Allen said.