Written answers

Thursday, 26 February 2009

Department of Education and Science

Youthreach Programme

5:00 pm

Photo of Emmet StaggEmmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 43: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the duties and responsibilities assigned to resource staff employed by Youthreach; the pay scales used to pay such staff; the way their duties and responsibilities are different from those of ordinary teachers; his views on whether, in many cases, resource staff do similar jobs to teachers and often have their performances measured alongside teachers yet are on different pay scales; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7936/09]

Photo of Seán HaugheySeán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Youthreach provides two years integrated education, training and work experience to young people aged 15-20 years who have left school early without any qualifications or vocational training. It is provided in an out of school setting and centres operate for 226 days per year. There are around 6,500 places available nationally under the Youthreach umbrella. 3,700 of these are funded by my Department and delivered in just over 100 centres by Vocational Education Committees (VECs). The majority of the remaining 2,800 places are funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and delivered in Community Training Centres by FÁS.

Youthreach posts are not advertised as teaching posts and teaching qualifications are not required for employment in Youthreach centres. Each centre must have a Co-ordinator who manages the centre and at least one Resource Person. Resource Persons are recruited to work in Youthreach and are responsible to the centre Co-ordinator on a day to day basis for the delivery of the Youthreach programme. Their pay and conditions were set out in a 1998 Adjudication Board determination and these were revised in 2005 as part of a Productivity Agreement. They are required to work 35 hours per week, with direct class contact in keeping with programme needs as required by the VEC subject to a maximum of 20 hours per week. The balance is spent on administrative duties.

The duties of a Resource Person in Youthreach include: work with centre management in the planning, delivery and evaluation of appropriate responses to education and training needs; work with centre management to agree and implement a centre development plan and conduct an internal centre evaluation process; direct class contact; curriculum development and delivery; maintenance of discipline; development and monitoring of the programme; assessment and monitoring of learners' course work; conducting interviews of learners; provide locally agreed substitution cover for absent staff and supervise learners as necessary during lunch breaks and at opening and closing of the centre; general administrative duties and to deputise when necessary for the Co-ordinator. The latest pay scale (as at 1st September 2008) for Youthreach Resource Person is as follows:

1 €31,652

2 €33,718

3 €35,792

4 €37,870

5 €39,955

6 €42,042

7 €44,137

8 €46,238

9 €48,342

10 €50,456

11 €52,716

LSI 1 €54,593

LSI 2 €56,473

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