Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 532: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if or when departmental recognition will be given to a group (details supplied) run by Monaghan Vocational Educational Committee; her views on whether almost 8,000 young persons used this facility in the first nine months of 2005 and that it is one of the few organisations which caters for cross-Border involvement and young persons with special needs; her further views on whether the recognition for funding of this organisation is ongoing for at least the past ten years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35210/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Outdoor education centres, such as that referred to by the Deputy, have been developed by vocational education committees in the interest of providing outdoor education programmes to enhance the quality of the educational experience for young people. The VEC outdoor education centres cater mainly for primary and post-primary students, including young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. They also cater for third level students, youth groups, special needs groups and adults. During periods, in particular, of school holidays when the centres are not fully utilised for educational purposes, they generate additional income by providing courses on a commercial basis for the leisure and tourism market.

There are nine recognised centres and three unrecognised centres, including the one referred to by the Deputy. Funding was originally approved on the basis that the centres would be self-financing. Accordingly, my Department's annual grants are contributory in nature and go mainly towards the core staffing costs involved in running the centres. The funding provided by my Department, including for the centre referred to by the Deputy, has increased considerably in recent years and now stands at some €1.8 million annually.

My Department has been in recent years in discussions with the VECs and representative staff unions concerning the pay structure and conditions of service that should apply to the different categories of staff in the centres. Considerable progress has been made in these discussions and my Department anticipates that agreement on this long-standing issue can be agreed in the near future. Finalisation of these arrangements will enable the recognition of the three unrecognised centres to be addressed.