Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 8, between lines 27 and 28, to insert the following:“ “Education and Training Boards Ireland” means the association established to collectively represent education and training boards and promote their interests, which is recognised by the Minister for the purposes of this Act;”.

At the start of Committee Stage my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, indicated that he wanted to consider how the legislation should reflect the current and future role of the Irish Vocational Education Association, IVEA. This consideration included its capacity to co-ordinate information and provide more support generally within the sector. The purpose of amendment No. 7 is to include a provision that permits the Minister of the day to request a new body to make representations on behalf of an education and training board to conduct surveys relating to information sought by the Minister and to give assistance to a board as necessary for the effective discharge of its functions. These provisions will help to make explicit the useful support role which can be provided to the new boards in carrying out their functions. The Minister, Deputy Quinn, also stated on Committee Stage that the IVEA was going through an internal process to ratify a change of name to reflect the structural reform taking place in the sector. That process has now concluded and, accordingly, the Government is tabling the remaining amendments in the group, which have the effect of recognising the new body in this legislation. It will now be known as Education and Training Boards Ireland, ETBI.

These amendments also replace references to the IVEA with references to the ETBI in this legislation and in the Youth Work Act 2001. As the national representative for VECs, the IVEA has played a pivotal role in the development of the sector for more than 100 years. I believe the ETBI will continue in that proud tradition and I look forward to working in partnership with the body as we enter a new era for education and training in Ireland.

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