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

I thank Senator Moran for raising this matter on the Adjournment. As everyone is aware, significant reforms are ongoing at every level of the Irish education system, particularly in the further education and training area and in higher education. We are slowly but surely moving towards a closer alignment to the labour market based on evidence from all relevant stakeholders, including employers, learners, the unemployed and international best practice. Just two days ago the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, and I launched Ireland's first ever further education and training strategy which sets out exactly the route for all learners, irrespective of their existing skills set and levels of attainment, to access a very high quality and meaningful further education and training opportunity. The aims of these reforms can be summarised as follows: to support inclusion and diversity; to improve equality and accountability; and to create opportunities for learners and trainees to go on to the next level of training or into the world of work.

It is my Department's objective and ambition to create a strong, relevant and co-ordinated further education and training sector through structural change which involves a number of reforms. Central to the reform process has been the creation of SOLAS, our new further education and training authority, which is tasked with a co-ordinating and funding role and the local education and training boards, ETBs, which are tasked with the delivery of further education and training services. We now have our 33 VECs amalgamated into 16 ETBs, each with the scale and capacity to improve the opportunities offered to those out of work. By 1 July, all of the former FÁS training centres will have transferred over to the ETBs and the training that takes place within those centres will be provided under the auspices of the ETBs.

SOLAS was tasked with preparing a five-year strategy which was published this week. The strategy was devised through an exemplary consultation process, which involved seeking and listening to the views of everyone involved in the sector, from learners to Government and from employers to trade unions. SOLAS submitted the strategy to the Minister for Education and Skills on 31 March and it was officially launched this week.

SOLAS is tasked with achieving the best possible outcomes for our learners, value for money for the taxpayer and appropriate standards of corporate governance by training providers. I understand that following a review of learning outcomes and a cost benefit analysis, SOLAS training north east has decided to discontinue funding for Drogheda Community Training Centre from May 2015. I am informed that current learners will be supported to complete existing programmes and individual learning plans will be agreed and supervised by SOLAS and Drogheda Community Training Centre to ensure continuity of service delivery. Early school leavers who would normally have been referred to the centre will receive priority referral to access other suitable training programmes in the Drogheda area. It is the intention that over the next 12 months Louth Meath Education and Training Board, including SOLAS training north east, will engage with all relevant stakeholders with a view to further enhancing provision for early school leavers in the Drogheda area. SOLAS and I would like to thank the staff and the board of management of Drogheda Community Training Centre for their service and professionalism in dealing with these matters.