Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The legislation allows the Minister, Deputy Quinn, to decide on the commencement of the legislation, thus signalling the dissolution of FÁS and the creation of SOLAS and the further education and training authority. It is envisaged that will happen in the near future. It will certainly happen in the next two to four months. I cannot provide an exact timeframe at this stage but I will be discussing the issue further with the Minister and my officials in the coming days. It certainly will not be left lingering for any lengthy period.

In regard to the relationship between ETBs and the existing FÁS structures, the SOLAS implementation process has involved considerable work at VEC level in a number of locations, including Dublin and Cork in particular, to determine how the amalgamation of further education and training provision should proceed. In essence, the process involved a paper-based merger in order to determine what issues might arise. It has provided us with valuable information and I have already seen a number of instances of collaboration between senior FÁS officials and VEC officials at local level. That collaboration reflects the ethos that underpins the ETB model. Once FÁS ceases to exist and SOLAS is created there will be a seamless transition and the collaboration will continue for the foreseeable future.