Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

The Minister of State may have been getting to the portion of her reply which dealt with the question relating to the McIver report when her time ran out. With regard to the key recommendations of the report, although the Minister of State mentioned figures for 1998, the McIver report was published in 2003. Will she support and give timetables for the following recommendations: new managements structures; new administrative structures; specialist appointments; recognition of the sector as a distinct sector of education; the prioritisation of child care; and achieving all-year teaching, taking into account day, night and weekends? Do timescales exist for any of these six recommendations?

Does the Minister of State accept that her Department is failing to recognise the potential of the further education sector by not implementing the McIver report? We are almost unique in the EU in not having a separate further education sector. Will the Minister of State deal with this? Will she deal with the fact that PLC colleges are being forced, through the indecision of the Department on the McIver report, to operate within the constraints of the second level structures and resources?

Is the Minister of State aware of the annual school leavers survey, which shows the unemployment rate for school leavers going directly into the workforce doubling to 21% in 2004? The McIver report and the PLC sector could deal with this matter in a real way. Will the Minister of State provide a timescale for the report's implementation?

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