Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

My officials are working on the preparation of legislation to give effect to the Government decision to reconfigure the VEC sector. This will take the form of a Bill that will consolidate the existing nine separate tranches of legislation. Ultimately, the timeframe for implementation of the decision will depend on the passage of the legislation through the Oireachtas. Consequently, it is expected that the mergers will occur during the course of 2012. The existing committee members will continue to serve together on the merged bodies until the local elections of 2014. In parallel, my Department will continue to engage with the relevant stakeholders, including trade unions representing staff in the VEC sector, in respect of the detailed implementation of the Government's decision and to progress the advance planning for these mergers.

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