Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 12 November 2014

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection

Further Education and Training Strategy: Discussion

2:45 pm

Mr. Paul O'Toole:

I will begin by answering Senator Jim D'Arcy's query about the education and training boards that did not receive a training centre. His question and observation are quite right. The old FÁS training network of centres did not map onto the structure for the education and training boards. That left a situation in which five education and training boards have statutory responsibility for training. He asked how they discharged that task. They are not all the same. They are in different parts of the country and have different relationships. What has happened is that the Department of Education and Skills is in dialogue with the education and training boards, supported by SOLAS, to work out an equitable solution to deal with the situation. The Senator is smiling at my response.