Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 3: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the plans in place to create regional structures in education as envisaged in the action plan of the national forum on education, published in 2001; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10856/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I understand that the Deputy is referring to the action plan of the national forum on primary education, Ending Disadvantage. The forum was held in St. Patrick's College in Drumcondra in July 2002 and was planned by a national planning group representing all national agencies working in the area of educational disadvantage and parents living in designated areas of disadvantage.

One of the recommendations of the forum was the devolution of the organisation and delivery of pre-primary, primary and post-primary education, third level access and further and second chance education from the Department of Education and Science to local structures. The report also envisaged the devolution of budgetary control, responsibility for the identification of local and regional educational needs and strategic planning to meet the needs to those local structures.

The Deputy will be aware that my Department has established a regional offices service as a result of the recommendations made in the Cromien report, which, in October 2000, reviewed my Department's operations, systems and staffing needs. The implementation of the recommendations contained in the Cromien report were approved by the Government.

This regional office service, which is an integral part of my Department, consists of ten regional offices and a central directorate of regional services. The role of the offices is to support a socially inclusive society by representing the Department on appropriate regional and local bodies, such as the city and county development boards and the regional and local drugs task forces, communicating information on education issues to and from the Department and providing any other educational services that can best be undertaken regionally.

The regional office service also co-ordinates the response of the Department to the education needs of newcomers, manages the visiting teachers services for Travellers and the hearing and visually impaired and manages the distribution of dormant accounts funding in the education sector.

While the Department will continue to review the operation of the regional offices with a view to transferring other functions to them as appropriate, it is not proposed to transfer to them the range of functions envisaged in the action plan of the national forum on primary education.

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Page 147 of the action plan of the national forum on primary education states that the plan recommends the creation of regional education structures and devolved responsibility for the areas of primary, pre-school, second level and third level education. The Minister referred to looking for administrative duties but also real decision-making powers in terms of the analysis of regional needs, the development of strategies for the integration of services at a local level and the allocation of funding and resources. Does she not agree it is time we took a radical approach to education? VECs are located in virtually every city and county authority and local authorities are engaged in planning. The Department of Education and Science is supposed to plan school places in advance of any new housing developments or change in the population. In some cases it is not very effective in this role. Would it not make sense to have a regional education structure on a county-by-county basis with links to or amalgamated with the existing VEC structure, and links to county councils and the Department of Education and Science? Would that not serve the needs of education at all levels more effectively than having ten regional bodies? Would it not be preferable to have a regional body working along existing lines where the facilities already exist, between the VEC meeting structures and those of local authorities? There would not be a significant increase in costs but decision making would be sharper and more focused and people would be able to target money exactly where it is needed.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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No. I fundamentally disagree with the proposal. The last thing we need is another 26 structures for education with administrative boards which would link into other administrative boards and to try to link agencies together. This would tie people up in knots going from one meeting to another. It would not serve any purpose whatsoever. It was part of a proposal made in 1995 or 1996 in a White Paper on education. Fianna Fáil fundamentally opposed it at that stage. It is crucially important that we are able to maintain quality at all levels, in addition to budgetary control, and to ensure there is equity in the service. I have no proposals to set up more administrative structures.

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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What I suggest is a series of one-stop-shops on a countywide basis where all of the various strands would be integrated into one location. In that way, people would know where to go to find whatever information they require on education. Given that the Government's current policy appears to be to move Departments to various parts of the country and to call that decentralisation, is it not about time we had real decentralisation and local decision making? I agree it is time we had proper systems, instead of disparate decisions being made. We need a one-stop-shop. Would the Minister consider this option if it could be done properly? I accept more research is required.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The type of system we have is probably unique in the world. We have 4,000 schools, half a dozen management bodies — all of which have responsibilities — major agencies like the National Educational Welfare Board and the National Educational Psychological Service. The Department is also involved in the school completion programmes in all of the drugs task force areas, and in local development and partnership bodies. People are already involved in a significant number of initiatives.

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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But they do not work together.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The best place for parents to get information is in their local school. That is as it should be. That is why the relationship between schools and parents is so important. The regional offices serve to make contact with people. The proposals outlined in that forum are wide ranging. They include regional structures with relative autonomy, authority, budgetary control, responsibility for the identification of local and regional educational needs and strategic planning for all of that. The suggestion is that these powers would all be moved from the Department of Education and Science. I fundamentally disagree with this proposal.