Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to touch on two items briefly and perhaps the Leader can help us. The Minister for Education and Skills is about to introduce a Bill on the education and training boards but it has been brought to my attention that there is no seat on that board for the further education sector. We know that the education and training boards means the reduction of 33 VECs down to 16. A core component and key part of their work is adult education. It would be outrageous if no seat was provided on the board for people that represent adult education, adult literary and further education. I ask the Minister to flag the issue now but Members will raise the matter during the debate on the Bill. Ideally, the legislation needs to be amended beforehand to include the provision. It would be good if the legislation arrived here already drafted.

We have raised the following matter before when we debated the Civil Registration Act with the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton. We need to table an amendment to help Irish families whose loved ones die abroad to have their deaths registered at home. We only think of the matter when it affects ourselves but there are quite a few families in Ireland who are upset. Examples that come to mind are those people whose young sons have died while on a working visa or during a summer abroad or their husbands died in the Middle East. We need to put pressure on the Minister. I was assured by the registrar that a memo was being sent to Cabinet last spring but that has still not happened. Resolving both of the issues that I raised would greatly help a lot of people.