The organisation responsible for awarding certificates for further education and training has 'put on hold' issuing certificates for all FÁS courses pending the results of their national audit.
In a statement, the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC) confirmed that it began a national investigation of all FÁS programmes last month after issues were identified in the northeast.
FETAC has said that there were a range of administrative and procedural errors.
As part of its investigation, FETAC is visiting all 17 FÁS centres that request certificates. It has already visited six.
The investigation is due to be completed by the end of this month, after which FETAC will consider 'appropriate actions'.
FETAC has said it does not believe there are issues with apprenticeships and construction related courses.
Fine Gael's Fergus O'Dowd has said that it was vital for the unemployed, particularly the long-term unemployed, that all the problems relating to FÁS were resolved for once and for all.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for FÁS said it is making significant progress in the implementation of its new Training Standards System and in dealing with the backlog of certificates due to qualifying learners.
During this exercise processing issues in respect of a small number of courses have been identified.
Certificates will therefore not be issued to any qualifying learners until these matters are resolved. FÁS has notified FETAC regarding these issues and is working with them to resolve them.
FÁS is said to be fully investigating the matters and dealing with them as quickly as possible to avoid any further undue delays for its learners.
Earlier, Youth Work Ireland expressed concern over the withdrawal of FETAC certification of FÁS programmes.
The organisation believes that proper certification is key to everything that FÁS does and problems with certification could undermine the entire range of courses offered by FÁS or any successor body.
The group has emphasised the importance of quality education and training for young people in the current economic circumstances and the need for transparency in the area of certification.
