Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. The unanimous support for this Bill is an indication of the success of the engagement by the Minister and Minister of State with the various stakeholders over the past year or so. As stated by the Minister earlier, the objective of this Bill is to ensure better delivery and co-ordination of education and training at local level. We all want an education system that is designed to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world. I support Senator Quinn's comments in regard to entrepreneurship and preparing young people for the world of business and equipping them with the skills required in today's world.

I heard the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, say recently that we have no idea, given improvements in technology, what shape employment in the future will take. Having served as member of County Galway VEC for a number of years, I cannot let this opportunity pass without referring to the wonderful work done by the VECs in Ireland since the 1930s. The VECs brought education into communities in the 1930s and 1940s, including my own home town, which is a small community of a couple of hundred houses. There is currently a thriving vocational school in that area catering for more than 200 pupils. I was impressed during my time as a member of the VEC by the breadth and range of educational courses provided throughout the country.

There was particular emphasis on the marginalised and people who really wanted a second chance at education. There is a significant emphasis in County Galway on adult education.

This did not happen by accident but as a result of very strong leadership, particularly by a great chief executive, Mr. Joe McDonagh, who many remember as a member of that great Galway hurling team of 1980. There was also a very strong management team and progressive chairman in Mr. Pat Gilmore, as well as a wonder adult education officer in Ms Eithne Nic Dhonnchadha. It is only right, when we are moving to a new structure, to acknowledge the wonderful work that those people do and will continue to do as they become part of a progressive and better-designed structure.

I very much welcome the fact that the Minister took on board issues relating to representation on the boards that had been raised by my county VEC and the Irish Vocational Education Association, IVEA. We should place on record the wonderful work and engagement of the IVEA in putting together these new structures and helping them develop. We should also acknowledge the work of Mr. Michael Moriarty as the chief executive.

I could not let the opportunity go without acknowledging the great work being done by the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, who is chair of the SOLAS implementation group. I know work is progressing at pace and I have no doubt that when the new structure is up and running, we will have a very vibrant and progressive educational system that will serve the country well in future. Today we can welcome change and we can also acknowledge that the VEC structure is going from 33 VECs to 16 VECs. In my county, Galway city and county will be grouped with Roscommon in a VEC. There was initial resistance but there has been much common sense, straight talking and engagement. As a result, the structure evident when the Bill is passed and all other elements are in place will serve the country well.

I hope it will equip us to tackle the significant problems of unemployment in the country, which is significant. We must consider how to get young people engaged sufficiently with the education system and ensure we point them in the right direction. I know we all have concerns about career guidance in schools and the resources available but we must gear our education system towards work and getting people thinking about entrepreneurship and being equipped to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing society.