Mr. Michael Moriarty:

I will not repeat anything Mr. Paul O'Toole has said. Reference was made to collaboration. This has been epitomised by the successful transfer of the training centres thus far. We have had extensive collaboration with FÁS, Mr. O'Toole and his staff, and my chief executive officers from the ETBs. We have had a seamless transfer so far of the first tranche of training centres.

On the issue of duplication, we come from different backgrounds. We are coming from the VEC background, which is very much focused on the post-leaving certificate courses. The ETBs will be charged with almost all State delivery of education and training. It is at the delivery stage that we must prove ourselves as ETBs. We will have service level agreements signed with FÁS. Set out will be the targets to be met, the programmes to be delivered and the funding associated with those programmes. That will be evaluated afterwards. In line with Government priorities or priorities set by the State in its planning process, we are trying to meet the objectives set at local level through the ETBs. At present, up to 80% of the training in the training centres is contracted.

Let me return to the issue of alignment with employers. The system has been out of sync with the European norm for many years. I have said before that when AnCO was set up in the 1960s, the State was quite socialist in that it started making provision, first with AnCO and then through FÁS, for apprenticeship and training. ETBs, as providers, have challenges but employers must be challenged to engage actively with us and SOLAS in devising programmes and ensuring providers are answering the needs of industry.

Mr. O'Toole talked about SOLAS and national engagement with employers. However, there is now a fantastic opportunity for local ETBs to meet the needs of local employers. Some days ago I attended the conference of the Irish Hotels Federation, at which Mr. O'Toole spoke. We had a number of meetings with the federation with a view to meeting their needs for commis chefs, breakfast chefs, waiters and front of house staff. One will have read in the newspapers today that there is a shortage of qualified front of house staff. This is where ETBs can operate locally, as we have been doing for years. It is a case of making it part of a strategy to ensure we are meeting the needs of employers. Those needs change and evolve, and the education and training system might not evolve as fast. This is important to acknowledge and I believe Deputy O'Brien did so.

Deputy O'Brien mentioned community education. I want to be certain that, with the amalgamation of ETBs into larger entities with the transfer of FÁS, we do not lose touch with the local communities. This is why we have always emphasised at ETB level the importance of community education. The hallmark of the VECs since the 1930s was a focus on the marginalised. This must remain part of the philosophy and must not be totally swamped by the requirement to meet the skills needs of jobseekers and other learners. This is important.

I mentioned earlier that education and training boards, schools and centres of education exist to serve their communities, jobseekers and those who require re-skilling. The challenge for us and teachers in schools that have post-leaving certificate courses is to examine how we can be more flexible and meet the needs of the clients all year round. It was said about VEC schools in the 1930s that they were the schools with the lights on at night. We need the lights on not only at night but during the entire year. This engagement with employers will be the engine and it will be critical to the future development of the sector. Thus, we as providers will be meeting the real needs of local employers.