Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation Batt O'Keeffe today dismissed a call by Labour spokesman Ruairi Quinn for Fás to be abolished.
Mr O'Keeffe said he was confident that changes at the state training agency would lead to a more efficient operation.
Mr O'Keeffe said that there had been "a massive transformation", including the appointment of a new board. He said he believed the agency has a major role to play in training people for jobs and tackling the unemployment crisis.
"I think we should have confidence in what is now in place and give them an opportunity to ensure the proper functioning of Fás - with proper controls being in place," said Mr O'Keeffe.
Mr Quinn had earlier called for fund for education and training "be fundamentally reviewed" and said he believed that the entire retraining budget should be put into the institutes of technology infrastructure.
Mr O'Keeffe said some Fás money is already going into the institutes of technology, who are tendering for training contracts with the agency.
"The ITs can tender for training in the same way as any private company can. Obviously I hold the institutes in the highest of esteem - they are outstanding people within the system itself," he said. "They have been providing training for apprentices for years and now they are providing further training through a tendering process that is available to everybody."
"I think what we have to do with Fás is to make sure that if we are outsourcing training that the standards required are met and that proper controls are in place to ensure all of those bodies that are providing training are providing training to the highest professional capacity and that proper controls are maintained."
"It has to be Fás itself, Government can't micromanage everything itself - you give responsibility, there is now a new board and new chief executive at Fás and having met him on a number of occasions, I must have the highest confidence in the integrity and ability of the man to do a good job."
