General Scheme - National Training Fund (Amendment) Bill 2025

Provides that

(1) This Act may be cited as the National Training Fund (Amendment) Act 2025.

(2) Collective citation for the National Training Fund Acts, as necessary.

(3) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or provisions.

Explanatory Note

This Head sets out the short title by which the Bill will be known and follows the standard initial section to a Bill. It allows for a phased implementation by empowering the Minister to commence different provisions of the Bill at different times.

Insertion of new definitions in section 1(1)

Provides that

“innovation” means the development and use of new ideas, methods, products, processes, policies and services where they have not been used previously;

“research” means creative and systematic work in any discipline that is undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge (including knowledge of humankind, culture and society) and to devise new applications of available knowledge;

Explanatory Note

This Head includes definitions which are referenced in Head 3.

The definitions for “innovation” and “research” are taken from the Research and Innovation Act 2024 (No. 15 of 2024).

Insertion of new Section 7 (2B).

Provides that

(1) Payments under subsection (1) in respect of a scheme referred to in subsection (2) may include payments in respect of:

(a) acquisition of lands, premises, furniture or equipment or the upgrading, construction or reconstruction of facilities or premises; and/or

(b) core funding for higher education institutions; and/or

(c) research and innovation.

Explanatory Note

This Head inserts a new subsection 7 (2B) to provide that payments from the National Training Fund in respect of a scheme referred to in subsection (2) may include payments in respect of:

• acquisition of lands, premises, furniture or equipment or the upgrading, construction or reconstruction of facilities or premises and/or
• core funding for higher education institutions and/or
• research and innovation.

Subsection 7(1) of the Act provides for payments by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure NDP Delivery and Reform, from the National Training Fund in respect of a scheme referred to in subsection (2).

Subsection 7(2) of the Act provides that a scheme referred to in subsection (1) is a scheme the purposes for which it is established are -

(a) to raise the skills of those in employment, or

(b) to provide training to those who wish to acquire skills for the purposes of taking up employment, or

(c) to provide information in relation to existing, or likely future, requirements for skills in the economy.

The purpose of this Head is to ensure that certain capital payments, core funding for higher education institutions and research and innovation payments can be made from the National Training Fund and that these payments can only be made in accordance with a scheme under subsection (2).

This Head provides that capital payments from the National Training Fund may be made for acquisition of lands, premises, furniture or equipment or the upgrading, construction or reconstruction of facilities or premises. It is intended that this will include refurbishment, retrofitting, decarbonisation and accessibility of facilities and premises as required. However, these capital payments must be for the purposes of establishing and running a scheme to raise the skills of those in employment or to provide training to those who wish to acquire skills for the purposes of taking up employment or to provide information in relation to existing, or likely future, requirements for skills in the economy.

This Head also provides that research and innovation payments and core funding for higher education may be provided from the National Training Fund for the purposes of schemes to raise the skills of those in employment or to provide training to those who wish to acquire skills for the purposes of taking up employment or to provide information in relation to existing, or likely future, requirements for skills in the economy.

The reference to acquisition of lands, premises, furniture or equipment or the construction or reconstruction of premises is from Section 11(1) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005.