Ms Carol Hanney:

I thank the Chairman for allowing me the opportunity to make an opening statement. The City of Dublin Education and Training Board, CDETB, was established on 1 July 2013, replacing the former City of Dublin VEC. It is a large and diverse organisation with an overall estimated budget of €588 million and a staff of approximately 3,200. CDETB provision includes second level education, very large post leaving certificate, PLC, courses and vocational training and opportunities scheme, VTOS, provision, two training centres and ten Youthreach centres. We provide education services to more than 2,000 prisoners in seven prisons, part-time programmes for adults up to Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, level 6 delivered in more than 80 centres in the city and a wide range of specialist projects. We also fund 13 community training centres.

CDETB, through its youth services board, CDYSB, delivers, funds and supports a wide range of community organisations to develop and deliver youth work services. CDETB has been at the forefront of innovation from the original work in the curriculum development unit to the development of PLC provision and QQI programmes. We continue to develop new programmes in partnership with industry and third level institutions. These include maths as part of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM, a QQI level 5 course in digital media production and new programmes in ICT and construction and, through our international projects, technology enhanced learning, work-based learning and blended learning. Recently, we have been involved in the development of two new apprenticeships in accounting technician and commis chef, now being delivered in three of our further education colleges. We are also leading the development of three further apprenticeships and two traineeships.

Since 2012, the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, unit of CDETB has replaced 66 former grant awarding authorities in the provision of a centralised student grants administration function. Handling more than 100,000 grant applications annually and awarding more than 80,000 student grants, SUSI administers approximately €365 million in student grant funding, has annual administration costs of approximately €8.5 million and an approved staffing complement of 100. With grant payments to more students now commencing earlier each year, and with more than 95% of all grant applications now processed and paid before Christmas, SUSI continues to meet and exceed its key performance targets for the timely processing of grant applications and for the payment of awarded grants.

CDETB has adopted the code of best practice for governance as set out by the Department of Education and Skills. The board has 20 members and holds an average of ten meetings each year. The audit and finance committees meet as required by the Act and also report to the board. CDETB has a strong risk management structure and a strong system of internal control. In compliance with the ethics Acts, CDETB board members and designated staff provide annual disclosures of interests.

The 2016 budget for CDETB was approximately €585 million, an increase of 200% over the 2010 CDVEC budget of €190 million. The significant budget increase over this period was due in the main to the set up of the new SUSI unit in 2012 and the transfer of two Dublin FÁS training centres on 1 January 2014. In 2014, the payment of Department of Education and Skills scholarships and bursaries, to the value of approximately €4 million, transferred to SUSI. The total value of SUSI-related receipts in 2016 was approximately €394 million and the training centres accounted for a further €46 million of the budget total.

Until 2016 no additional staff had been assigned to the CDETB head office finance department as a result of this significant increase in operational activity, but the broadening of functions has resulted in an increased demand for senior staff management and oversight. The completion of the annual financial statements on a timely basis continues to be a key priority. Despite significant challenges facing the organisation over recent years, CDETB has, since 2012, continued to produce draft accounts for audit by the middle of the year immediately following the accounting period, and they have been signed off by the Comptroller and Auditor General before the end of the year. However, the running of the operational areas of the finance department in a time of significant change and scarce staff resources has also been prioritised so as to ensure that all CDETB staff, trainees, students and suppliers are paid. The 1 April statutory deadline for submission of draft accounts for audit has not been achievable to date by the organisation. However, we are committed to bringing forward the date for submission of the draft accounts to the Comptroller and Auditor General to an earlier date.

Since 2013, CDETB has gone through a significant process of change. We successfully made this transition and we have maintained and grown our services notwithstanding a net reduction of more than 60 administrative staff due to the public service staff moratorium. CDETB continues to engage with industry to open up employment opportunities for students and to ensure that the programmes offered are relevant to the skills needs of employers. Over the years, CDETB has developed a wide range of progression routes from its colleges to third level institutions. CDETB's strategic vision is to deliver a high quality provision for all its learners in line with QQI guidelines and it is committed to further developing its systems to enhance the central oversight of its provision and to lead proactively the continuing advances required at a time of change and development. It aims always to respond to student and learner needs and to fully engage its staff in the change management process. The pathways to achieve these changes are set out in our strategy plan for 2015 to 2020 and in our quality assurance procedures continuous improvement plan of 2017.