Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 417: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if the legislation which abolished the dual mandate prevents Members of the Oireachtas from being members of local government, the reason Senators are allowed to be members of vocational education committees. [23066/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The legislation which prohibits dual local authority and parliamentary membership is the Local Government Act 2001, as amended by the Local Government (No. 2) Act 2003. This legislation is the responsibility of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Under the 2001 Act, a local authority, for these purposes, is defined as meaning a county council, city council or town council. The majority of members of vocational education committees are drawn from membership of local authorities. A Senator could not become a member of a vocational education committee through this avenue. However, other members include those elected by representatives of parents and staff and there would not appear to be a legal prohibition against Senators becoming members of a committee under these latter categories.