Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will acknowledge this letter and tell the ETB that we expect the 2017 financial statements to be completed within six months of year end, which is the normal procedure. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Next is No. 812C, dated 13 October, from the general secretary of Education and Training Boards Ireland, ETBI. He has also spoken to the clerk by phone. The general secretary points out that the ETBI is a voluntary body and does not have any governance role over ETBs. Rather, its job is to promote the interests of the sector. As such, it does not have a similar role to that of the Higher Education Authority, HEA, in respect of the third level sector.

When we discussed inviting a number of ETBs to appear before us, members asked that we also invite the ETBI, but it is a different type of organisation than the HEA, in that it is not a conduit for funds and receives no State funding. It is just an association. It has annual conferences and might arrange training, but it is not funded directly. It has no oversight role even though it has a fancy name. Given that the oversight role in respect of ETBs remains with the Department of Education and Skills, I propose that, when we are engaging with the sector, we should direct these questions to the Department. I see no role for the ETBI in our examination.

When we debate our work programme and decide which ETBs to invite, I ask that members submit which ETBs they would like to attend and the rationale for same. There are 16 of them and we will not invite them all, so let us have a rationale for choosing which to invite rather than just members choosing to invite - or not invite, as the case may be - their own ETBs.