Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú:

The difference on Monday particularly was that 33 entities stopped existing and 16 replaced them. We had a series of amalgamation of bodies. It was just as I described and it was business as usual. There was no difference in the provision of services. The teachers are being paid by ETBs this week when they were paid last week by VECs and so on. There is a continuation in the provision of services.

The ETBs will have developing functions over time. Training is one example of that. The fact that they are there will enable them to support schools in different ways over time. There are some changes but, again, it is not a big bang. It will be a gradual change and one of the important things we had worked through over a long period was identifying who the chief executive officers of the ETBs would be. They all commenced office on Monday. Each ETB has agreed a date with the Department on when they will have their first meeting. Technically the Minister has to decide the date but he decided that on advice from the ETBs. They are all having their first meeting in the next few weeks. Some may have had that meeting. They are working on with their regular business. The ETBs include all the members of the former VECs, but after the next local government elections their membership will be reduced.