Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, and wish him well in his work in the Department of Education and Skills. I expressed my view at a parliamentary party meeting that I hope this proposal to amalgamate 33 VECs to form 16 will be more successful than the amalgamation of the eight or nine health boards into the Health Service Executive, which did not prove very successful. I hope there will be very detailed consideration of the benefits of this proposal.

VECs have served us very well since the 1930s. It is a long time since legislation was introduced. The Minister of State will agree that the VECs have done the State a great service over the years. I am a former pupil of the vocational education system and I declare an interest in that my daughter is chairperson of the Roscommon Vocational Education Committee, although I do not believe I have to declare that. The chairpersons of VECs do not receive any remuneration. It is important to note that quite a number of members of VECs come from the elected councils and they provide a very good service to the public in a democratic way.

It is imperative the new structures continue the legacy of the effective integration and work of the county VECs. The VECs work with statutory and voluntary agencies with a county remit, including the county development boards, child care committees, sports partnerships, integrated development companies, mental health associations, activity groups and so on. It is imperative the new VEC structure, whatever it is, continues to connect with local communities.

The strength of VECs in the area of adult and community education has been that they have been able to connect with the community through interagency work and other methods. VECs empower individuals to engage with education. They break down barriers to education through community education. Initiatives in adult education programmes and accessibility are key to delivering an effective education to adult learners in rural communities. That has been a strong point. I do not believe any other education service would have given that type of service to adults. That is what has been provided by the VECs and their adult education officers. The new VEC structure must ensure staff at county level in the area of adult and community education continue to engage, empower and, ultimately, improve the education of rural communities, which are dispersed and geographically isolated. The delivery of education in rural dispersed communities takes much time, effort and cost. VECs have played a key role in empowering individuals on the margins to engage with education and to improve the quality of their lives and their job opportunities, and that is vital in the new role the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, and the Department have in FÁS and other agencies. It is vital the new VEC structure will include the key posts and workers in adult and community education, such as adult education officers, community education officers and support staff within each of the counties.

VECs over the years have proven themselves to be accessible, accountable and democratic bodies. The education service at local and county levels must remain accessible to the community to remain relevant and effective. To that end, the key posts and support staff within the county structure must be retained, where there will be a strong structure on the ground. Irrespective of whether we amalgamate Roscommon, Leitrim and Longford, for example, each county would have a clear structure with which people could identify, as they had in the past.

The Minister of State can make this quite clear. The amalgamation has no effect on community schools and colleges which operate under the schemes or on VEC links with, and membership of, the institutes of technology. Those all are issues which can be considered and looked at by the Minister and officials when they are dealing with the matter.

The matter is at an early stage. It was mooted previously, in the 1980s, and it was deferred at that time until another date. It has been talked about for a long time. This may or may not come about. We will be concentrating on other issues in the meantime.

The proof is that the VECs really have been effective organisations. They have worked well. If one visits Grange in County Sligo, from where the late Senator Willie Farrell came, one will see it developed because there was a vocational school. All of the businesses, whether furniture manufacture or window and glass manufacturing, had a connection with the community there. I can see in every town where there are vocational schools that the majority of people who work in the area have had a link with the vocational school. At the time it was a tremendous concept - it is still a good concept - and over the years it has developed in other areas of activity, and now we want to emphasise job creation.

I found going to the vocational school in Roscommon a fairly good experience. When I was leaving the vocational school in the 1960s I was offered two jobs, which was rather good. I was offered a job in the county council as a trainee draftsman or work with an architect in Roscommon, and the headmaster brought me in and gave me great advice before there was careers' advice available.