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

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and for giving me an opportunity to outline to the House the position regarding the delivery of training in Cavan and Monaghan from 2015 onwards. Through a series of Government decisions, it was decided to replace the 33 vocational education committees with 16 new entities, to be known as education and training boards or ETBs, and to establish SOLAS to replace FÁS. As part of the reform of the further education and training sector, as the Deputy has said it is envisaged that the ETBs will play a key role in delivering further education and training in an integrated manner. This involves the transfer of training centres from SOLAS to the ETBs. Seven training centres and their staff transferred to ETBs on 1 January 2014. A further 12 training centres transferred to seven ETBs earlier this week, on 1 July. Each training centre, including the training centre in Dundalk, moved to the ETB of the functional area in which the centre is located. Five ETBs, including Cavan and Monaghan ETB, did not receive a training centre. The Education and Training Boards Act 2013 makes no distinction between the 11 ETBs that are receiving centres and the five that are not. All 16 ETBs must ensure the delivery of education and training. This reflects the Government decision. The question to be considered by the five ETBs that did not receive training centres is how best they can deliver on the Government commitment.

There have been extensive discussions on this matter between the ETBs, SOLAS and the Department. Under the agreed position for 2014 that is in place, ETBs with training centres will retain primary responsibility for training and continue to provide services to areas which do not have training centres. The position for 2015 and beyond is under consideration at present. The ETB-SOLAS programme board, which is responsible for the stewardship of the ETB-SOLAS reform programme and is chaired by the Secretary General of the Department, agreed that a project should be established to examine the most likely options for a longer-term solution for the five non-training centre ETBs. A group comprising representatives of boards that are receiving training centres and boards that are not, as well as SOLAS and the Department, has been put in place and has concluded that each non-training centre ETB should engage with those ETBs having or receiving training centres and with SOLAS. This engagement should involve each non-training centre ETB preparing a joint proposal with the other ETBs, informed by the support of SOLAS. My Department is committed to assisting Cavan and Monaghan ETB in carrying out its role in the provision of further and training services. To this end, it invested more than €15 million in capital works in the Monaghan Institute of Further Education and training last year.

In addition, in January of this year, approximately €100,000 was provided for works at the Castleblayney Youthreach centre.

On 24 June, my Department received a proposal from Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board regarding the delivery of training in those counties from 2015 onwards. This proposal, together with other proposals received regarding the delivery of training in the areas covered by the five ETBs which did not receive training centres, is being considered in my Department.

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