Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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Question 6: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the likely timescale for the proposed rationalisation of the vocational education committees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19177/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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My officials are working on the preparation of legislation to give effect to the Government decision to reconfigure the VEC sector. This will take the form of a Bill that will consolidate the existing nine separate tranches of legislation. Ultimately, the timeframe for implementation of the decision will depend on the passage of the legislation through the Oireachtas. Consequently, it is expected that the mergers will occur during the course of 2012. The existing committee members will continue to serve together on the merged bodies until the local elections of 2014. In parallel, my Department will continue to engage with the relevant stakeholders, including trade unions representing staff in the VEC sector, in respect of the detailed implementation of the Government's decision and to progress the advance planning for these mergers.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Did I pick up the Minister correctly when he stated it would involve nine separate tranches of legislation?

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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No. We are consolidating nine separate tranches of legislation. The first Vocational Education Committee Act was in 1930. Since then and as recently as 2001, for various reasons there has been various amending legislation. We are using the reconfiguration of the 33 VECs to update and consolidate into one Act all the relevant legislation regarding the operation of the VECs. We are consolidating it. The heads of the Bill are at an advanced stage and I signed off on the first draft over the weekend. The idea is to have one tranche of legislation. My intention is that it will be brought in the form of the heads of a Bill to the Joint Committee on Jobs, Social Protection and Education for discussion by committee members and then returned to the Department before we send it to the Attorney General's office.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for the clarification. I welcome the rationalisation of the vocational education committees. I have taken a consistent approach in this regard. I am a strong defender of and a believer in the value of the VEC system and what it has done for education since 1932. Better synergies can be had from stronger entities.

I hope I will not have to disagree with the Minister when he decides on the various headquarters and that we can keep this unanimity. Is it the Minister's intention in advance of the publication of the legislation to name the different headquarters? How will the various chief executive officers be chosen? What mechanism will be used to decide who heads up the 16 entities?

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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As the Deputy is aware, there are 33 VECs currently. Within that structure, 22 of the chief executive officers, CEOs, are permanent and the others are acting at present. The union representing the 22 CEOs on a professional basis, SIPTU, is in discussion with the Department to evolve a mechanism that will enable the 16 CEO designates for the new entities to be identified in a manner acceptable to all involved. Once the process of identification of the CEO designates is in motion, the question of the location of the headquarters will become germane. We will be at that stage in the coming five or six weeks and we will proceed in that order. I am keen to get there as quickly as possible and to provide certainty in terms of who the CEO designates will be and the location of the headquarters. The CEO designate will act in consultation and concert with the Department to begin to prepare for the integration of the VECs. For example, in some cases a city and county VEC will be integrated with another county VEC. Then, we will complete the process with the local elections in 2014.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Will consideration be given in the legislation to give further education a particular identity? Generally, it is appended to second level education. It amounts to a misnomer at this stage in view of the great success of post-leaving certificate courses, PLCs, and the colleges of further education. I am keen for consideration to be given to this in the context of the legislation that the Minister intends to merge and consolidate. I believe this sector has performed admirably and it deserves its own identity.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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There is similar thinking on this side of the House in respect of that matter. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Ciarán Cannon, will have responsibility for taking the training element that was FÁS into the space currently occupied by the further education sector and bringing together the disparate elements of the further education components of VEC activities along with what used to be the training component of FÁS to create a recognised space for further education in exactly the way Deputy Smith has articulated. We are still working on the details of how best that can be done but we recognise the necessity to put it all together and give it an identity of its own. It is somewhat tacked in behind the post-primary section of VEC activities in many counties.