Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 824: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the progress which has been made in the allocation of the funding set aside following the recommendations of the McIver report on further education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14642/06]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 828: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when she expects to adopt or implement the McIver report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14656/06]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 845: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will implement the McIver report for further education in order that additional funding is allocated to the section. [14790/06]

Síle de Valera (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 824, 828 and 845 together.

Government commitment to the PLC sector, by reference to the resources applied in teachers' pay, non-pay running costs, student support and certification costs, is very significant. We have increased the number of PLC places by 60% since 1996-97. Indeed, the number of PLC places approved for 2005-06 is up by more than 1,600 on the 2004-05 level. The number of approved places in the sector now stands at 30,188. We also extended the provision of maintenance grants to PLC students with effect from September 1998. The PLC maintenance grant scheme operates on the same basis as in higher education. There were nearly 8,000 PLC grant holders in 2005 and they received some €23 million in direct support. Tuition fees for PLC courses are also waived. PLC students are included in the calculation of non-pay budgets issued to schools in respect of running costs. A supplementary non-pay grant towards running costs specifically for PLC schools is also payable. This amounted to €5.5 million in 2005. In addition, capital funding for works at 11 post-leaving certificate colleges in 2006 has been agreed.

Other developments funded by my Department of direct benefit to the PLC sector include the provision of national certification under the Further Education and Training Awards Council and the development of progression links with higher education in the institutes of technology.

The McIver report contains 21 over-arching recommendations, incorporating 91 sub-recommendations. It has been estimated, in consultation with management and staff interests, that the recommendations for staffing would involve at a minimum the creation of at least 800 new posts at a cost of over €48 million.

This level of additional provision cannot be considered in isolation from other areas of education. In their consideration of the needs of the PLC sector into the future my officials have been examining, inter alia, the non-teaching educational tasks particular to PLC teachers, the demands on the management side and the challenges presented by the variation in size of the 200 plus PLC providers.

The McIver report also featured in recent discussions my officials had with representatives of the Irish Vocational Education Association. I want to invest in educational opportunity for learners in further education by providing the necessary system supports that will allow the sector as a whole to fulfil its important potential. There is a need for a realistic engagement between the main partners in agreeing priorities for progress, identifying workable timescales and beginning to make tangible progress on aspects of the wider agenda involved. Based on the issues identified in the McIver report, I intend to table proposals for discussions on the way forward. The timing and extent of implementation along with the funding to be made available will be decided when agreement is reached following these discussions.