Minister Lawless obtains Government approval to draft legislation to amend National Training Fund Act, unlocking funding package of €1.5 billion
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From: Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
- Published on: 17 June 2025
- Last updated on: 17 June 2025
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science James Lawless TD today obtained Government approval for the drafting of legislation to amend the National Training Fund (NTF) Act. This will unlock the funding package of €1.5 billion announced in Budget 2025 for the tertiary education sector over a six-year period from 2025 to 2030.
Minister Lawless said: “The National Training Fund is one of our most important tools to support people in gaining the skills they need to retrain, to enter the workforce or to stay ahead in their existing role.
“The fund has been a vital enabler for our country to weather the impacts of past economic downturns, but a considerable surplus has been built up, which is why I am taking action now to ensure that we can invest this money where it is most needed.
“The changes we’re making to the legislation are targeted but practical and necessary, and they’ve been agreed with all the key stakeholders. They’ll allow us to make use of the €1.5 billion package announced in Budget 2025 without changing the purpose of the Fund, which remains focused on skills, training and helping people into work.”
This funding package includes:
- €650m core funding package for Higher Education, addressing Funding the Future commitments by increasing core funding by a further €150m by 2030.
- €600m capital uplift to enable skills development, including facilities in the areas of healthcare and veterinary skills and further education skills; supporting universal access to skill provision; and the research sector (including an increase in the PhD stipend).
- €235m for the tertiary sector as one-off current funding including skills and apprenticeships.
“This package will help deliver the education, training and research we need to keep pace in a fast-changing world. It will support thousands of learners each year in our further education and higher education institutions, in apprenticeships, or in new upskilling pathways producing skilled graduates who are ready to contribute to a dynamic and competitive economy. It will also drive innovation and cultivate the next generation of research talent ensuring that we continue to grow a workforce that is ready for the future.” Minister Lawless concluded.
NOTES
The National Training Fund was established by the National Training Fund Act, 2000 as a dedicated fund for schemes, which are established to:
- raise the skills of those in employment,
- provide training to those who wish to acquire skills to take up employment, or
- provide information in relation to existing, or likely future, requirements for skills in the economy.
The Act provides for the imposition of a Levy on employers for a group of certain employees. Originally set at 0.7% of reckonable earnings, the rate was increased incrementally by 0.1% over 3 years, from 2018 to 2020, to the 1% rate currently applied following consultation with industry partners.
The accumulated surplus in the Fund is estimated to be approximately €1.8 billion at the end of 2024.