Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Question 8: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will outline the progress made to date in the establishment of the new education and training agency SOLAS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30947/12]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Following the Government decision to create SOLAS, an implementation group which I chair was set up to establish the entity. A public consultation on the establishment of SOLAS involving key stakeholders was completed earlier this year. The heads of a Bill for the establishment of SOLAS have been approved by Government and I expect to publish this legislation during the autumn session. Following the establishment of SOLAS, more than 700 staff from the FÁS training division will commence transferring to the education and training boards. The establishment of SOLAS is part of a complex range of related reforms, including the transformation of the 33 VECs into 16 education and training boards. In advance of the establishment of the education and training boards a number of joint projects are already under way between the VECs and FÁS which will assist in the transfer of FÁS training services to the boards.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome that the heads of the Bill have been approved by the Government. Does the Minister of State expects to have the legislation enacted before the end of the calendar year?

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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It is our ambition to have it before the end of the year.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Is it envisaged that the new architecture will be put in place in parallel with the legislation going through the Houses of the Oireachtas?

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The SOLAS implementation group has primarily been working to create a roadmap for the amalgamation of the education and training boards and the further education and training functions of FÁS. We have established two pilot programmes, in Cork and Dublin, to carry out a paper exercise of assessing the challenges and issues that might arise as a result of the amalgamation. We are trying to establish the issues and work out solutions at this stage so that we can address them when they arise. We are putting in place the circuitry of SOLAS so that when the legislation is introduced we can throw the switch to allow the amalgamation to be completed speedily.

The amalgamation of 33 VECs into 16 education and training boards and the process of amalgamating the boards with FÁS are difficult challenges by themselves. We are trying to complete both tasks concurrently while also ensuring continued provision for the many unemployed people who deserve excellent opportunities in terms of further education and training.

We are working hard to ensure that SOLAS comes into being as speedily as possible. I envisage that SOLAS will get its legal basis as an entity towards the end of 2012 and amalgamations will ensue, initially in Dublin and Cork and other areas following quickly. It is hoped that the amalgamation process will be completed by the end of 2013.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for the clarification. I appreciate this is a major project and it has my full support. However, the momentum needs to be maintained. If any doubt or uncertainty sets in the new entity will get off to a bad start and will take time to recover. I am concerned for the people who avail of the services. All of us have met people in our clinics who have asked about SOLAS and whether it provides courses. Some are not yet fully aware that FÁS continues to deliver training services. It is important to get this right but delays must be minimised for the sake of the people who depend on these service and for the employees who fear being stuck a lacuna between the existing authority and the new entity.

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The Minister, Deputy Quinn, and I have been anxious to engage with employees of FÁS and the VECs. Several weeks ago we held an enlightening meeting with the chairs and CEOs of the VECs in which we addressed a number of concerns in the VEC sector regarding what the future held for the new entity.

I share Deputy Smith's concern that when SOLAS comes into being, people should be able to trust the quality of service they receive as end users. Industry should also be able to trust that it can respond effectively to emerging skill requirements. It is important not to rush the process but it is also important to avoid unnecessary delays so that the new entity serves the people for whom it is intended in the most effective and high quality manner.