Unspent money for workers was returned to EU, says TD

A Sinn Féin TD has called for reform of a European fund designed to support workers who lose their jobs as a consequence of globalisation after it emerged a significant sum may be sent back to Brussels later this year having gone unspent in Ireland.

Dublin Mid-West TD Eoin Ó Broin said documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show that millions of euro in such supports, provided through the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, had already been returned to the European Commission.

Mr Ó Broin called on Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan and Minister of State for Skills Damien English to ensure €4.15 million in funding for 424 redundant Lufthansa Technik workers in Rathcoole, Dublin, was spent by next September’s deadline.

Closing date

He told the RTÉ’s

The Week in Politics

that the Lufthansa programme would only spend €1.5 million of the €4.15 million by the closing date.

This meant only €975,000 of the commission’s €2.49 million contribution would be spent, while the remaining €1.5 million would have to be returned to Brussels.

“It is shocking that 63 per cent of this fund will remain unspent according to the department’s own figures,’’ said Mr Ó Broin. “This is money that should be used to provide education and training, not only to workers who lost their jobs at Lufthansa Technik but also to hundreds of young people from the Dublin mid-west and south-west areas currently not in education training or employment.’’

In a statement, the Department of Education said public beneficiary bodies generally funded the cost of the measures from national budgets and subsequently submitted expenditure declarations and claims during and following completion of the programme.