Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join the Chairman in welcoming the representatives from the TUI, NALA and thank them for taking the time to appear before the committee and giving their comprehensive thoughts on the Education and Training Boards Bill and how it will affect education, with particular regard to the their areas of expertise. I thank the TUI representatives for their initial presentation and going through it in such depth. There will be an opportunity for us at look at it in more detail as time did not permit them to go through it all. They have outlined serious concerns from a teacher's point of view in respect of the impact of the changes in the Bill, not just the structural changes and the amalgamation of VECs and expanding the role of the education and training boards, and how it will impact on staff currently employed by those VECs. Some pertinent issues have been raised which the committee will be required to explore with the Minister as the Bill proceeds.

We discussed previously how VECs deal with teachers and the increasing issue of casualisation of employment. I am aware from a previous discussion with the TUI that up to 35% of teachers in the VEC sector are not permanent. In respect of the establishment of the education and training boards can anything be done to address that issue, as VECs are amalgamated, and bring about more security for teachers? It has been a growing problem for staff in the VEC sector and will have a long-term impact in terms of attracting graduates and ensuring that a viable livelihood and career is available for those who decide to enter the profession.

Will the representatives comment on the proposal to amalgamate the FÁS training element with the VECs under the oversight of the education and training boards? How do they see the benefits or otherwise of the ETB proposals in bringing all that sector together?

I thank the NALA representatives for their presentation.

There is a gap in respect of ensuring adult representation on education and training boards, ETBs. An issue arises in the case of one of the points put forward by the Teachers Union of Ireland in terms of ensuring a good spread of parent and teacher representation on the boards. The number of local authority members makes it somewhat restrictive at the moment. The powers of decision making given to local authority members in terms of deciding who the community representatives should be ought to be examined and explained to ensure a strong representation of the various partners on the ETBs. I am unsure whether this has been given the appropriate level of thought at this stage either in the Bill or the drafting.