John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Burton. I spoke to her about this very briefly several weeks ago.

In Dublin 15, further education and training, FET, provision is planned by Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board, DDLETB, to cater for over 21,000 beneficiaries this year, offering a wide range of courses consisting mainly of part-time and community adult education, some of which is delivered on the site of one of the two schools referred to by Deputy Burton in the information she supplied.

Higher level full-time FET provision is concentrated in post-leaving certificate colleges and the training centre network. Generally, we have found that full-time learners are willing to travel further to these locations. On offer through the City of Dublin Education and Training Board, CDETB, is a full range of full and part-time further education and training courses up to and including level 6, details of which are available on www.fetchcourse.ie. Provision this year is planned to meet the needs of around 50,000 beneficiaries in the greater Dublin area.

In the context of the overall annual planning of FET provision, it is a matter for each education and training board to determine how best it should distribute FET programme allocations, including post-leaving certificate, to meet the needs of the area. This year, almost 2,800 post-leaving certificate places were allocated to DDLETB and almost 7,500 post-leaving certificate places were allocated to CDETB.

The Deputy may wish to note that one of the schools referred to, Riversdale community college, is in the management of DDLETB and it would be matter, as the Deputy knows, for it to decide on courses to be offered at that location. The second school is not under ETB management and would need put in place its own quality assurance arrangements before it could seek to offer further full-time FET provision.

My Department has brought the matter raised by the Deputy in her question to the attention of DDLETB in order that it can be taken into account in terms of future planning for FET provision for Dublin 15.

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