Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

At present, there is a proposal to take vocational training opportunities scheme, VTOS, training places from Tallaght and give them to Balbriggan. As the Minister of State is aware, Tallaght has one of the highest rates of unemployment among those between the ages of 18 and 24 in the country. I am requesting that the decision to transfer the training places to which I refer to Balbriggan be put on hold. There is no logic to what is being done. The decision does not make sense, particularly from a financial point of view. Tallaght was more affected than any other area by the collapse in the building trade. The latter provided employment for many young people in Tallaght and these individuals require help in order that they might retrain and upskill.

These vocational training opportunities scheme places are very important and are part of this upskilling and employment-finding process. Under these changes Balbriggan will now have two VTOS places for every 1,000 residents while Tallaght and Walkinstown will have less than one for every 1,000 residents. Where is the logic or fairness in that? Why does Balbriggan deserve more than Tallaght and Walkinstown? It is not a case of being against resources going to Balbriggan, but where is the logic in this process? Who has made this decision? It is an ill-thought-out decision and will have a very negative effect on Tallaght and Clondalkin. I hope the Minister of State will reconsider the decision, intervene personally and do the right thing.

Why close the operation in St. Dominic's National School where, I understand, the rent is €11,000 per year and is negotiable with the school principal? Why send 20 VTOS places to Balbriggan with the added cost of premises, resources and teaching hours? It has been suggested to me by staff that those 20 VTOS places are equivalent to two classes at 15 teaching hours per week. If we multiply that by a 32 weeks, that is, the school year, and an average gross pay of €50 per hour it amounts to €48,500 to be paid to teachers. These are all extra costs for the education and training board because we already have teachers in the Tallaght setting. There does not appear to me to be any saving in Tallaght apart from the €11,000 in rent. In early March this year a third computer room was set up in St. Dominic's for VTOS along with electrical and data points. There will now be an extra cost for the computers, fitting out the rooms and the move to the enterprise centre in Cookstown along with data protection and so on.

I have been informed by the Department how much all of this will cost but I have been quoted a figure of €10,000. Furthermore, the lease on the enterprise centre is up in two years. Again, everything will probably have to be moved. How much will that cost? What is the point in moving from St. Dominic's? The decision to close St. Dominic's and move the extra 20 Tallaght VTOS places elsewhere seems to have been made recently. Reference was made to putting in the electrical points in during March. Otherwise, why fund a third computer room in March this year?

I understand from the Department that the decision has been made purely for financial reasons. However, what I have outlined to the Minister of State today is that this does not add up. Why are we doing this? I look forward to the reply from the Minister of State and I hope he has looked into the situation. I hope he has seen the common sense of my remarks on the matter. Tallaght cannot afford to lose any resources. It is not a case of taking them away from Balbriggan. The resources are based in the area at the moment and we cannot afford to lose them. Will the Minister of State reconsider this foolish decision?

See this speech in context