A REVIEW of Fás training centres has found that almost 70 workshops and 20 classrooms it operates around the country are lying idle.
The under-use of facilities appears to be related to a fall in employment at the State body. Staffing levels have dropped by almost 200, or 300 when part-time staff are counted, over the past two years.
The review carried out last December found 10 workshops operated by Fás in Tallaght were lying idle, while eight were not being used at the agency’s training centre in Sligo.
Tralee had six idle workshops, and Cork, Finglas and Waterford five each.
The number of permanent staff employed by Fás fell from 2,183 to 1,986 between 2008 and 2010, while the number of instructors fell from 436 to 325.
At the end of 2008, Fás employed 50 temporary instructors and 40 other temporary staff, but by last Christmas these numbers had fallen to one temporary instructor and one other.