Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 274: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if his attention has been drawn to the concerns expressed by the vocational educational committee board of management and teachers regarding the effects that budget 2009 cutbacks will have on VEC schools and centres here, that the sector will lose hundreds of teachers in 2009 as a consequence of the change in the pupil teacher ratio, while further posts will be lost in relation to disadvantage and that this will have a serious impact on the education system here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6868/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Teacher allocations to all VEC schools are approved annually by my Department in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment. In accordance with these rules each VEC is required to organise its subject options within the limit of its approved teacher allocation. The deployment of teaching staff, the range of subjects offered and ultimately the quality of teaching and learning are in the first instance a matter for the VEC's.

In accordance with existing arrangements, where a school management authority is unable to meet its curricular commitments within its approved allocation, my Department considers applications for additional short term support i.e. curricular concessions.

This concession is available as a short term support to enable essential curricular provision to continue.

The allocation processes also include appellate mechanisms under which VEC's can appeal against the allocation due to them under the staffing schedules. The CEO of a VEC can submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeal Board which was established specifically to adjudicate on appeals on staffing allocations in post-primary schools. This Board operates independently of my Department.

Discrete allocations are also made to VEC schools to cater for pupils with Special Educational Needs and those with Language difficulties for example. The main focus of Social Inclusion measures will be to retain resources in DEIS schools. There is a need to focus targeted resources on the schools in most need and this approach is in line with the broad thrust of the recommendations of the Comptroller and Auditor General which are set out in his report on Primary Disadvantage of 2006, which recommended that my Department should focus its educational disadvantage measures on those schools serving the most disadvantaged communities.