Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy McFadden for raising this matter on the Adjournment. I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, who cannot be here tonight. He asked me to acknowledge the deep interest and expertise Deputy McFadden has in this area. I refer to what the VEC sector has achieved in her constituency and elsewhere. Deputy Quinn and I are aware of her interest in this issue as a Senator and as a member of the local authority in Westmeath. We are facing challenging times as a country. That is particularly true of the education sector. We need to build on the strengths of the VEC sector in tackling these challenges.

The VEC sector is well positioned to play a key role in the transformation of our education system given its long-standing ability to respond and innovate to new challenges across society. Earlier today the Minister announced that the City of Dublin VEC will operate as the new centralised authority for administering the student grants system. This is an excellent example of the VEC sector playing its part in public sector reform.

A reconfigured VEC sector with a reduced number of VECs will provide for a more efficient deployment of resources, a very important issue in the current difficult economic environment. Equally importantly, it will provide strengthened capacity at VEC level to drive improvements in our education system. The Minister for Education and Skills has already indicated his intention to proceed with a reduction in the number of VECs.

Although the previous Government decided on the merger of particular counties, the Minister recently extended an invitation to the Irish Vocational Education Association, IVEA, to submit alternative rationalisation proposals, following the IVEA's expression of concerns regarding the specific configuration of the proposed new entities. While the Minister is open to proposals from stakeholders, this invitation should not be construed as meaning that the process of rationalisation will be slowed or diminished in any way. In parallel, the practical work needed for the restructuring is continuing. For example, departmental discussions are taking place with unions on staff related issues. No decision has been taken on where headquarters should be based. A range of factors need to be considered, including the configuration of the reduced number of VECs and the existing building stock in different VEC areas. Department officials have consulted on this issue and the Minister will be considering this and other implementation matters in due course.

In the programme for Government, the Government is committed to local devolution of administrative functions relating to maintenance, school building projects and co-ordination of support services currently carried out by principals. VEC rationalisation will enable and support such devolution and will not affect the delivery or quality of front line education provision in any way. In addition, the new VEC entities will be well positioned to bring enhanced purchasing power, through leveraging, to bear on securing value for money for schools and the wider provision of education providers at all levels of the school system.

The decision the Government will make on particular mergers and the location of the headquarters of the new entities will be driven by how we can deliver the most effective and efficient local structures to ensure high quality education outcomes at local and national level. I thank Deputy McFadden for affording me the opportunity to respond to the House on this matter. I will make sure the Minister is fully apprised of the comments made in the context of the Adjournment matter, which is of crucial significance to Deputy McFadden's constituency.

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