Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 20 together.

The post leaving certificate, PLC, provides an integrated general education, vocational training and work experience programme for young people who have completed their leaving certificate and adults returning to education. Its purpose is to enhance their prospects of gaining employment or progressing to further or higher education.

Approval of PLC places involves incurring expenditure on teacher salaries, non-pay funding and means tested student support grants. Teachers are appointed to deliver PLC courses on the basis of a pupil-teacher ratio of 17:1 compared to the 19:1 ratio that applies to second level teaching. In addition, non-pay funding related to student numbers is also provided. Finally, students who satisfy the terms of the student support schemes are eligible to receive maintenance grants. Taking all these factors into account, it is estimated that approval for each additional 1,000 PLC places costs about €8 million.

In the current academic year, the number of PLC places approved for funding by my Department is 31,688. This includes an additional 1,500 places approved in the context of the supplementary budget in April 2009. The 2010 budget for my Department has been framed on the basis that the approved number of PLC places for the next academic year will remain at 31,688. The overall number of approved PLC places is set at its current level because there is a continuing requirement to plan and control public service numbers and to manage expenditure within the context of overall educational policy and provision.

However, it is important to note in that regard that the annual returns from PLC providers indicate that enrolments on PLC courses in the current academic year are in excess of 38,600. This is a commendable achievement by the providers of PLC courses and I would hope that this could be repeated in the next academic year.

It is also important that we do not view PLC provision in isolation from other programmes to provide for re-skilling and up-skilling. It is estimated that over 170,000 learners will avail of part-time and full-time further education programmes in 2010. In addition, the total number of full-time enrolments in universities and institutes of technology is estimated at more than 150,000 for the 2009 to 2010 academic year.

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