Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills, Deputy Damien English, to the House. It is his first time to come before Seanad Éireann and I congratulate him on his new portfolio and wish him the best of luck.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach for accepting this Adjournment matter which I tabled. I know there were huge demands from other colleagues. I join the Cathaoirleach in warmly welcoming to the House the Minister of State, Deputy Damien English. His appointment is well-received and long overdue. I wish him well in his role as Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills.

Last year, 33 VECs were replaced by 16 Education and Training Boards, ETBs. These were given full responsibility for the planning and delivery of education and training in their areas. As a result of the amalgamation, five ETBs have no training centre located within their jurisdiction. These are Cavan and Monaghan ETB, Laois and Offaly ETB, Kildare and Wicklow ETB, Tipperary ETB and Kilkenny and Carlow ETB. Cavan and Monaghan ETB has submitted detailed proposals to the Department of Education and Skills centred on the following provisions being put in place by 1 January 2015: apprenticeships training, contracted training, community training, the migration of IT systems, staffing requirements and budget transfer.

The former FÁS training centre located in Dundalk, County Louth was transferred to Louth and Meath ETB on 1 July. Cavan and Monaghan ETB chief executive, Mr. Martin O'Brien, and Mr. John Kearney, the education officer, have been attempting to communicate with Louth and Meath ETB regarding the transfer share of the training budget and the associated staffing since early May. However, to date none of the communication efforts initiated by it with the chief executive of Louth and Meath ETB have been reciprocated. I understand the training manager of the Dundalk training centre has indicated his refusal to present an overview of training being delivered in the Cavan and Monaghan region. This reluctance by Louth and Meath ETB to engage with Cavan and Monaghan ETB runs contrary to agreement protocols arranged by the Department of Education and Skills and SOLAS.

For Cavan and Monaghan ETB not to deliver its own training runs contrary to all national policy on job creation. In specific terms, the impracticality of Louth and Meath ETB delivering training in the Cavan and Monaghan ETB area will ensure that further education and training growth potential will not be fully achieved, and will result in job creation, the benefits of the national apprenticeship programmes and the facilities of Cavan Institute and Monaghan Institute not being fully maximised. It will also result in a lack of proper quality assurance systems and financial control frameworks for further education and training delivery in the Cavan and Monaghan region.

I understand Cavan and Monaghan ETB has requested the Department to appoint a facilitator to assist the engagement process between Cavan and Monaghan ETB and Louth and Meath ETB but nothing has happened in this regard to date. The board of Cavan and Monaghan ETB takes this matter very seriously and has made it clear to me, and to Deputies Brendan Smith and Joe O'Reilly who have raised this issue in the Lower House, that it will not tolerate not having a budget to help it provide training in its jurisdiction. The board has written to the Taoiseach seeking a meeting with him, such is the seriousness with which it takes this matter. I look forward to hearing the reply of the Minister of State.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach for his kind words. I could become a regular visitor here.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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As a Minister of State.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Last week I was sitting in the Gallery wondering if I would ever be here and now I am. I also thank Senator Wilson for his kind comments. I appreciate them. It will be nice to work with him on matters such as this, which affect us all.

I thank the Senator for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline the position on the planning for training provision in the Cavan and Monaghan area from 2015 onwards. The Further Education and Training Strategy 2014-2019 was published by SOLAS in April and sets out a way forward for the sector. One of the key initiatives in the strategy is the production each year of an integrated further education and training service plan. The first of these plans was produced this year and is available on the SOLAS website.

The annual planning process will be informed by an analysis of need in each ETB area and includes engagement with key stakeholders. A comprehensive analysis of available statistical data will be undertaken to help to determine regional and local course types, with the focus on providing market-led education and training opportunities, while also supporting early school leavers and others who are further away from the labour market. The reform of the further education and training sector envisages a key role for ETBs in the future delivery of further education and training in an integrated manner. Part of this involves the transfer of training centres from SOLAS to ETBs. A total of seven training centres and their staff transferred to ETBs on 1 January 2014, and the remaining 12 training centres transferred to the seven ETBs on 1 July 2014. Each training centre, including the training centre in Dundalk which provides training services within the functional area of Cavan and Monaghan ETB, will come under the ETB in whose functional area the centre is located. A total of five ETBs, including Cavan and Monaghan ETB, will not receive a training centre, as the Senator outlined. There has been, and certainly should have been, extensive discussion on this matter between the ETBs, SOLAS and the Department. I note the Senator's concerns that there was not proper consultation or that this is the prevailing view. I will check into this and ensure this happens.

While recognising that the Education and Training Boards Act 2013 provides for all ETBs to have training functions, the paramount consideration for the Department is the continuity of training services for learners. An agreed position for 2014 is in place, whereby ETBs with training centres retain primary responsibility for training and continue to provide services to areas which do not have training centres. A process is under way to consider the position for 2015 and beyond and a number of options are being examined. As part of this process, the Department received a proposal on 24 June from Cavan and Monaghan ETB regarding the delivery of training in Cavan and Monaghan for 2015 onwards. I note the Senator's concern that there has not been proper consultation, a meeting has not taken place and that a facilitator is being sought, so I am glad to inform the House that as it stands, a meeting between the CEOs of Louth and Meath ETB and Cavan and Monaghan ETB has been agreed with a view to planning for training provision in Cavan and Monaghan from 2015 onwards. This meeting is expected to take place shortly. Both parties and SOLAS have also agreed that a representative from SOLAS will attend the meeting, having regard to the experience and knowledge of SOLAS in this area. We will watch this space and ensure the meeting happens and see how it goes from there.

The Department will await the outcome of this meeting before considering this matter further and will keep in contact with those concerned. I am confident that whatever decision is arrived at, the new ETB service planning process will ensure that Cavan and Monaghan ETB is well served with further education and training options developed on a fully informed basis for 2015 and beyond.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his very comprehensive reply.

If there had been extensive discussion between the two ETBs on the matter then there would have been no need for me to table an Adjournment matter this afternoon. It is serious when one education training board, in effect, refuses to communicate with another on a matter of budget and personnel. It is unfortunate that this matter has reached the stage of being raised in both the Dáil and the Seanad in order for the people of Cavan and Monaghan to get fair play from the larger ETB. This is a delicate matter for the Minister because part of the ETB we are having difficulties with is responsible for the provision of training in his county, along with the provision of education.

I welcome his statement that a meeting has been arranged between the CEO of Louth-Meath and the CEO of Cavan-Monaghan. I hope the matter will be progressed in an orderly and speedy manner. I look forward to a positive outcome for the Cavan and Monaghan education and training board.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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We have been informed that there have been extensive discussions and engagement, which there should have been. The Senator has put it on record here that the opposite is the case, so I will check it out.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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People must work together to maximise resources, and the Senator's county colleagues started the process. It is important that there are discussions and the initiative is implemented correctly, thus allowing everyone to have their say. We want to bring the service back to the user, and maximising resources will help to prepare people for a job, which is key. I will check out the situation and make sure negotiations have taken place correctly, as in the past. More importantly, I will ensure that the meeting happens soon and we get the proper outcome. I hope a proper working relationship will result that will deliver the services needed across the board. The Senator is correct in stating that the situation affects my county and his county. I will take an interest in the matter and keep an eye on the process.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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I wish everyone a very happy summer holiday.