Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this important matter.

The adult education services in Mayo do magnificent work in helping adults with learning disabilities to acquire new skills, including reading and writing. A bombshell, however, has been dropped. This wonderful adult education service provided by Mayo VEC is in jeopardy. A letter dated 5 October was received by tutors which stated that due to a lack of funding to meet increased costs, it will be necessary to cancel all further literacy tuition in County Mayo between October and December 2005. The letter states:

Due to a lack of budget to meet increased costs, I have been informed by the chief executive officer that it will be necessary to cancel all further literacy tuition for the period October-December 2005. I shall be grateful, therefore, if you would inform all tutors and students that classes will cease as and from Friday, 14 October. We regret this action is necessary and contact has been made with the Department of Education in an attempt to get an increased allocation.

Pat Staunton

Adult Education Officer

It is a total and utter disgrace that people who have gone to the trouble to learn how to read and write should be treated this way. As a result, 700 literacy students must finish their tuition by the end of the week. It is terrible news for them and they have received it at short notice. More than 1,000 back to education initiative students must also conclude their studies by the end of the month. It is a total and utter calamity for those people and it is a disgrace that this can be allowed to happen. They are the most vulnerable in our society. They have reading difficulties but they have taken the brave step to participate in adult education.

It is sad that the people who are least able to help themselves and who have gone to a great deal of trouble to enrol themselves in adult education courses with great success should be thwarted in this way. It is unacceptable and unforgivable. These vulnerable people should not be the subject of a cutback and they deserve better.

The Mayo adult education service run by Pat Staunton and his team do good work with people. Margaret Kelly, Marian Cusack in Ballina, Lisal Mercroft in Achill and the 50 tutors are engaged in pioneering work and they are victims of their own success. They were told they would require a minimum of 232 pupils this year but they have attracted more than 1,000 students, a mark of their success. Their target was 45,000 hours contact but they have achieved 85,000 hours. They were encouraged to do this by the Department but their magnificent work is in jeopardy.

The 50 tutors deserve better than this given their wonderful track record, enterprise and pioneering spirit. They have helped many people with reading and writing difficulties, for whom such difficulties were a life sentence as they were unable to get on as well as they should. This service is superb.

Child care and health care support courses were also provided through the service. Students were due to gain a FETAC award next May. This is a nationally recognised award, which would be the pinnacle of their success. However, if the cessation of the teaching programme goes ahead, as planned, it will have catastrophic consequences for the students. If they cannot pursue their courses through November and December, they will not be ready for their award, as they will not have enough modules completed by May, which would be a calamity.

This cutback has serious implications for these students. I ask the Minister to provide €100,000, funding which should have been anticipated and benchmarked. It should have been factored into the budget. I blame the Minister totally for this and I call on her to act immediately.

Beverley Flynn (Mayo, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate. Between 40 and 50 tutors employed by Mayo VEC were informed last week that the back to education and literacy courses they were running would be suspended at the end of the month and the end of the week, respectively, due to an increase in administration costs, which meant that money ran out. This affects 50 tutors, 700 literacy students and 1,600 back to education initiative students who are doing a FETAC level 2 course in child care and health care support. This is disappointing news, with serious consequences for everybody involved, particularly they were given short notice towards the end of the year.

Eight weeks of the courses, which would have taken students up to Christmas, have been suspended and it is planned that they will recommence at the start of next year. However, the loss of eight weeks will have serious implications for the timing and scheduling of the course and the awarding of qualifications.

I hope the Minister of State can shed light on this issue. The funding for these courses amounts to €500,000 in 2005. Mayo was the first county to initiate the national adult literacy programme and the service is well regarding by the Department and throughout the country. Many other counties have followed the example of the excellent literacy programme content provided by Mayo VEC. Excellent results have been achieved, hence the popularity of the programme within the country, which has addressed what was a hidden condition until recent years.

It is a brave step for a person who leaves school without the necessary reading and writing skills to take up the challenge of a literacy course. They are an essentially vulnerable group. Why are they being targeted? Is it because it is highly unlikely a person on a literacy course will step forward as a spokesperson to state this situation is completely unacceptable and money should be put in place? These people are trying to achieve competence in the area of literacy and they are particularly vulnerable. It is a cynical exercise to target this course.

I refer to the back to education initiative, which concentrates mainly on unemployed people. However, many of them have paid for the course in full out of their own pockets in the expectation of gaining a qualification next May. The certificates under the FETAC level 2 programme are due to be presented in May 2006 and the scheduling of the course facilitates job applications for child care and health care support vacancies. Given the sudden suspension of the final eight weeks of the course this year, what implication will that have for the scheduling of the course? Will the eight weeks be added on at the end? How will this affect the new courses, which are due to commence in 2006?

Why was there no forward planning? Everybody must have recognised administrative costs would increase towards the end of the year. Why was that not anticipated? If it was anticipated, were additional resources requested from the Department? What was its response?

The people affected comprise vulnerable groups in our society. It is a shame that they have been hit. It is incumbent on me, therefore, as a public representative for County Mayo to speak on behalf of these silent voices on this issue. Both students and tutors are affected. I call on the Minister to make available as a matter of urgency the funding required to enable the County Mayo VEC to complete the adult literacy and BTEI programmes without interruption and to reassure the participants that all such courses will be completed on schedule.

Síle de Valera (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to address the issues raised by Deputies Cowley and Flynn together.

The Department of Education and Science was contacted by the chief executive officer of County Mayo Vocational Education Committee, Mr. Joseph Langan, last week on the matter. My officials requested that further details be submitted in writing. I am informed that no further communication has been received so far and we await a response.

The adult literacy services are delivered locally by vocational educational committees under the budget for the adult literacy community education scheme and the special initiatives for disadvantaged adults scheme. The national position regarding the allocations is as follows. All VECs were notified by letter from my Department on 30 March 2005 of their provision for 2005 in terms of their further education programmes. These include the adult literacy and community education programme, the back to education initiative, the vocational training opportunities scheme, post-leaving certificate courses, senior traveller training centres and Youthreach.

The provision to County Mayo VEC for the adult literacy programme in 2005 is €422,187, as against an allocation of €406,176 for 2004. This represents an increase of 10.39%, one of the highest percentage increases to any of the VECs. The corresponding increase in the overall subhead was 9%. This increase was in recognition of the demographic factors and the dispersed nature of the population in that county. VECs are expected to plan for their annual adult literacy programmes within the budget provided. With regard to its literacy budget, Mayo VEC received one instalment in April and a second instalment is due for issue this month. The number of literacy clients for 2004 was 660.

In March 2005, County Mayo Vocational Education Committee was notified by the Department of a budget allocation amounting to €529,000 in respect of back to education initiative programmes for the financial period January to December 2005. Within the BTEI programme, approval was given for 16 child care courses. Approximately 232 places and 45,405 tutor hours are being supported. An initial payment of 60% of the budget allocation, €292,002, was paid to County Mayo VEC in early May 2005. The balance of €236,998 allocated for this year is due to be paid following the receipt and reconciliation of approved financial statements from the VEC in respect of 2004.

The CEO of County Mayo VEC has recently requested a meeting with the further education development unit to discuss the financial reconciliation data. The VEC has also requested an extra €50,000 in respect of additional activity. In the event that the normal financial reconciliation is agreed between the Department and the VEC, the balance of BTEI programme funding will be issued to the VEC shortly. Requests for increased funding will not be considered at this time because the 2005 budget for the BTEI has been allocated to VECs, schools and community strand providers already.