Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 581: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when her Department will complete its review of allocations to vocational educational committees under co-operation hours with other institutions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34017/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My Department allocates additional teaching hours to VECs to support the delivery of education programmes in a range of facilities. Such allocations are made under the heading Co-Operation Hours with Other Institutions and are made in response to specific applications which are submitted by the VECs in advance of the commencement of the school year to which they relate.

The Co-operation arrangements extend over a range of educational services and needs including areas such as Community Training Workshops, Traveller Training Centres, Prisoner education, Probation and Welfare, Special Education, Youth Services, Music schools and others.

The scheme is currently under review by my Department. This review, which is in progress across all VECs, is a wide-ranging review covering many diverse areas of provision. Some of these areas are, of their nature, complex and require detailed research. Notwithstanding this, however, it is my Department's intention to complete this review to the furthest extent possible before the commencement of the 2007/08 school year.