Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the House for the opportunity to speak in the debate on this important legislation before the Dáil. The House will be aware the McCarthy report in 2008 recommended the reduction of VECs and other associated local government committees and organisations. Originally a reduction of 22 was mooted. However, the previous Government decided on 16, with which this Government agreed, and we now have the proposal set out in the Bill.

I warmly welcome the evolution from the vocational educational bodies which dealt only with education to educational and training boards. This will see the eventual amalgamation of the FÁS training division into the local education and training boards. It is prudent to have vocational and skills training under one roof. I look forward to further legislation later this year which will establish SOLAS to oversee the educational and training boards and provide a co-ordinated structure for the best delivery of skills training and local education. As Members are aware, it is proposed is to bring the FÁS training centres under these local educational and training boards, which makes fundamental sense because some early school leavers from the current VEC school structure can be attracted to follow up on a trade skill such as carpentry or plumbing or to become electricians to ensure that they do not leave the education and training board structure devoid of a skill in the blue collar workplace.

The transfer of the current 16 FÁS training centres to the education and training boards is significant. At present, FÁS targets up to 87,000 learners annually, with an average of 22,000 learners participating monthly. The responsibility for this training will now rest with the education and training boards, which will mean the footprint of the education and training boards will be pronounced in their local communities as they will have greatly extended responsibilities across the entire spectrum of education and training.

In the past, as a member of Sligo VEC I witnessed the great work done at local level by teaching staff, principals and VEC administration staff to develop and expand the VEC school network. VEC members comprising staff and community, teacher and local public representatives drove the educational agenda throughout Ireland. Adult educational courses, evening courses and post-leaving certificate courses were all sought by members and pursued by school principals resulting in the retraining and upskilling of many people in society, especially in rural areas throughout Ireland.

This has enabled many people to enter, and indeed re-enter, the workforce with renewed skills and confidence, and we can thank our vocational educational committees for this.

It is acknowledged that the connection with local authorities and VECs will be severed and the new ETBs will be an agency of the Department. Yesterday, the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, announced a massive change in the structures of local government, and it is significant that we also see the formal severing of relationships between local authorities and local educational boards through this Bill. My constituency of Sligo-North Leitrim will be affiliated with the new Sligo-Leitrim-Mayo education and training board. This is a vast area, ranging from the Cavan border as far as Achill in County Mayo and from the Longford border to Ballinrobe in County Mayo, and I have concerns about the geographical spread of such a large region. I am aware the population is sparse but this occupies a land mass of about 15% of the country. With almost 20 post-primary schools, this new regional structure is a mammoth task for the staff from the three counties and, indeed, for the incoming CEO to manage.

Section 38 confers on the Minister power to inquire into the performance of an ETB. This provision allows the Minister to appoint an investigator to carry out an investigation into the performance by the board of general or specific functions. The investigator, having taken the ETB's views into account, will submit a final report of his or her investigation to the Minister. In this, there is no proposal by the Minister to review the proposed structures after a prescribed timeframe. I am anxious to see a review of these structures within two years and I ask the Minister to ensure evaluations are done on all 16 ETBs to ensure all counties, especially the smaller ones, and existing schools get a fair crack of the whip in respect of funding and services from the ETBs.

I note the boards will have 18 members. There were many submissions to the Oireachtas committee which recommended that the composition of the boards should differ in various ways from that proposed in the general scheme of the Bill. For example, the Irish Vocational Education Association recommended that the ETBs comprise 21 members where the ETB is established through the amalgamation of two VECs, and 24 members where the ETB is established through the amalgamation of three VECs. However, the Bill as published retains the overall composition proposed in the general scheme. I ask the Minister to reflect on this on Committee Stage in order that where three counties have been amalgamated, he would look at increasing the membership to 21 to allow for three more local authority members as representatives on the board. This would ensure a more balanced regional representation at board level and allow fair representation for counties like Leitrim, for example, which have a large geographical area but a smaller population and a strong pupil number at the current VEC level.

I am glad to say my Government, under the Minister, Deputy Quinn, and the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, has set out a clear path forward for education at this level. Mr. Michael Moriarty, CEO of the Irish Vocational Education Association, stated recently: "The re-focus of F[urther] E[ducation and] T[raining] on the world of work and the skills needs of job seekers and other learners will streamline a more efficient service, from government policy level, to SOLAS strategic level, to Education and Training Board (ETB) implementation level." This is a significant endorsement of Government strategy which effectively sees the break-up of FÁS and the establishment of the national employment and entitlements service, to be managed by the Department of Social Protection. This is a one-stop-shop to support people in establishing their benefits entitlements, advise them about their training options and assist them in securing employment. It is high time this level of reform was established in our country considering our difficulty with almost 438,000 people out of work. I strongly believe this reforming Bill will provide the foundation for a fresh start on tackling long-term unemployment and I commend this legislation to the House.

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