Niall Collins (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 175: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he will define a voluntary organisation and a community organisation; the criteria used in deciding this in relation to section 7 of the Vocational Education (Amendment) Act 2001 which has been given effect by the composition of vocational education committee regulations 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42406/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Vocational Education (Amendment) Act 2001 does not define either a voluntary organisation or a community organisation. It is a matter for each council to decide which persons are representative of such bodies, as set out in paragraph 26.1 of my Department's Circular Letter 58/2009 - Arrangements for the Appointment and Election of VEC Members. A copy of the circular letter was provided to each County and City Manager on 7 October 2009. A copy is attached for the Deputy's information.

CGO - Airgeadas agus Pearsanra Riaracháin VEC Financial and Administrative Personnel

An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta Department of Education and Science

Cor na Madadh Cornamaddy

Baile Átha Luain Athlone

Co. na hIarmhí . Co. Westmeath

Chief Executive Officer

of the Vocational Education Committee

named in the address.

30 September 2009

Circular Letter No. 0058/2009

Arrangements for the Appointment and Election of VEC Members

Dear Chief Executive Officer,

The purpose of this Circular Letter is to provide an outline of the arrangements provided for in the SI 924 Composition of Vocational Education Committee Regulations 2004 and to provide clarification in relation to certain issues of general application. The Circular Letter will be made available on the Department's website (www.education.ie).

This document should be read in conjunction with SI 924, which provides a breakdown in detail of all aspects of the election process.

1. Election of Members representing Eligible Parents and Eligible staff to VECs

1.1 The 2001 Act provides for the appointment of members to a VEC as a result of election by the relevant Local Authorities, parents of students, who are under 18 years of age and VEC staff.

1.2 In addition, the 2001 Act provides for the appointment of 4 members by the Local Authorities, following a process of consultation with relevant interests, as outlined in paragraph 26 of this circular.

1.3 The 2001 Act also provides that both sexes shall be represented on a VEC in such proportions as are specified in the Regulations and also provides for the establishment of separate male and female panels of candidates.

2. Returning Officer

2.1 For purposes of conducting elections in accordance with Section 7 of the Act, the Minister will appoint a Returning Officer in each VEC. Returning Officers may appoint one or more persons to act as Deputy Returning Officers and may delegate to any such Deputy any of the functions of the Returning Officer that may be specified in the appointment. The Returning Officer may revoke such an appointment, at any time.

2.2 The Returning Officer for purposes of elections in each VEC will be the Chief Executive Officer for that VEC.

2.3 The expenses of the Returning Officer will be a matter for the VEC. Such reasonable expenses will be taken into account by the Department for purposes of the VEC's modified scheme.

2.4 Pursuant to Section 7 of the 2001 Act, a Returning Officer is responsible for the conduct of the elections and his or her decisions on all matters arising are final.

3. Electoral Process Calendar

3.1 A calendar of dates for purposes of the conduct of elections is, at Appendix 1 to this Circular Letter.

4. Members elected by Parents

4.1 Two (2) VEC members, male and female, shall be elected by parents of any student who has not reached the age of 18 years on 30th September 2009, and who is registered as a student at recognised schools or centres for education (see 6 below) established or maintained by the VEC, shall be entitled to vote and seek election.

4.2 A parent is as defined in Section 2 of the Education Act 1998 i.e. "parent" includes a foster parent, a guardian appointed under the Guardianship of Children Acts, 1964 to 1997, or other person acting in loco parentis who has a child in his or her care subject to any statutory power or order of a court and, in the case of a child who has been adopted under the Adoption Acts, 1952 to 1998, or, where the child has been adopted outside the State, means the adopter or adopters or the surviving adopter.

4.3 A student is as defined in Section 2 of the Education Act 1998 i.e. "student" in relation to a school, means a person enrolled at the school and in relation to a centre for education means a person registered as a student in that centre.

4.4 A nominee, who need not be a parent, may be placed on a panel of candidates provided their nomination paper has been signed by not less than 5 parents of students registered in accordance with paragraph 4.1 above.

4.5 In accordance with the 2001 VE Act, separate male and female panels of candidates shall be established.

5. Members elected by VEC Staff

5.1 Pursuant to Section 7 of the 2001 Act, two (2) VEC members, one (1) male and one (1) female, shall be elected by eligible VEC staff members. An "eligible staff member" is a person who, on the 30th September 2009, is employed as a member of staff by the VEC and whose remuneration in respect of that employment is paid by the VEC.

5.2 For clarification purposes, an eligible staff member applies to:

a)Staff who are on a contract of service on 30th September 2009. Such categories of staff would include permanent, wholetime and pro-rata part time staff.

b)Staff who do not have a contract of service on 30th September 2009, but who gave service on that date and for which service remuneration is payable. Such categories of staff would include hourly paid part-time staff.

5.3 A nominee, who need not be a staff member, may be placed on a panel of candidates provided their nomination paper has been signed by not less than 5 staff members registered in accordance with paragraph 5.1 above.

5.4 In accordance with the Act, separate male and female panels of candidates shall be established.

6. Recognised schools and Centres for Education

Recognised schools and designated Centres for Education established or maintained by the VEC are as defined in Section 2 of the Education Act, 1998.

In that regard, The Minister for Education and Science, in exercise of the power conferred on him under section 10(4) of the Education Act 1998 (No. 51 of 1998), has designated the places specified in appendix 2 to this Circular Letter to be Centres for Education for the purposes of the election of staff and parent representatives to the VECs.

7. Electoral Rolls

7.1 Provisional electoral constituency rolls comprising of eligible staff member electors and eligible parent member electors, with addresses, shall be prepared for purposes of the staff members and parent member elections.

7.2 Each eligible elector (parent and staff) should be assigned a number when entered on the appropriate roll.

7.3 The provisional electoral rolls should be made available in VEC Schools and Centres for Education, as the Returning Officer considers appropriate, by Friday 9th October 2009 (Schedule 1 of SI 924 refers).

7.4In addition, a notice should be displayed in each VEC school and centre for education, as the Returning Officer considers appropriate, to the effect that any eligible staff member and any eligible parent member who wishes to take part in the forthcoming election and whose name is not included on the provisional electoral roll, should apply in writing to the returning officer to have his or her name entered on the electoral roll. Amendments to the rolls should be made in the prescribed forms (Schedule 1 of SI 924 refers) up to 12 noon on Wednesday 14th October 2009.

7.5 Final registers of parent and staff electors to be made available by the Returning Officer on Thursday 15th October 2009.

7.6 An elector may vote only in respect of the candidates nominated in the constituency in which the elector is entered on the Electoral Roll.

8. Publication of Notice of Elections

Notice of the elections should be posted in each VEC school and Centre for Education, as the Returning Officer considers appropriate. This notice should make available to electors details of the electoral process (see Appendices 1 and 3 to this Circular Letter).

9.Notice to Eligible Parents and Eligible Staff

Letters should also be made available to eligible parents and eligible staff, see draft outlined at Appendix 4 to this Circular Letter.

.

10. General provisions regarding agents.

10.1 Each nominee for the election may appoint one or more agents and the name of a person so appointed shall be notified to the Returning Officer in writing by the nominee not less than 5 days before the th October 2009, on which the ruling on the validity of nomination papers shall take place i.e. 15th October 2009.

10.2An agent whose appointment is notified in writing to a Returning Officer under paragraph (1) may be present on behalf of the nominee at the ruling on nominations, the sealing of the ballot box or ballot boxes and the counting of votes for the election.

10.3 An agent shall, if so required, produce the written consent of the nominee to his or her appointment as their agent for inspection by the Returning Officer or by any person authorised to act on behalf of a Returning Officer.

11. Nomination of Candidates

The following eligibility criteria apply:

11.1 A person shall not be nominated as a candidate for election or have his or her nomination withdrawn, without his or her written consent.

11.2 Each candidate must be nominated by means of a separate nomination form (schedules 2 and 3 of SI 924 refer).

11.3 Each candidate's nomination paper must be signed by not less than 5 eligible electors, whose names are entered on the electoral roll for the constituency for which the candidate is nominated and who have not signed the nomination paper of another nominee.

11.4 The nomination form for each of the parent and staff elections must be completed by the nominee and nominators in the presence of the Returning Officer. The nominee and nominators must produce suitable identification i.e. driving licence etc. The period determined for receipt of nomination papers is, as follows:

Monday 19th October 2009: 2pm to 9pm.

Tuesday 20th October 2009: 10am to 12 noon.

11.5Candidates may withdraw nominations, in writing, before 12 noon, Friday 23rd October 2009.

11.6A nominee shall not be entitled to have his or her name entered on a ballot paper for more than one VEC.

11.7Each completed nomination form for the Parent and staff elections should be recorded by date and time and assigned a unique number, as appropriate, when submitted. This number will determine the order of receipt of nominations.

12.Ruling on validity of each nomination paper

12.1The Returning Officer will rule on the validity of each nomination paper in the following period:

Tuesday, 20th October 2009: 2pm to 4pm.

12.2 A nominee and the nominee's agent, if any, shall be entitled to be present at the ruling on the validity of nominations and no other person shall be entitled to attend except with the permission of the Returning Officer.

12.3 Each nomination paper ruled on as valid shall be endorsed sequentially with a unique number by the returning officer and this number shall determine the order of receipt of valid nominations.

3.4Nominations may be deemed invalid where the Returning Officer determines that the nomination form has not been filled properly in accordance with the rules and procedures e.g. where a nomination has been signed by less than 5 electors.

12.5 A nominee may before 12 noon, 2057Friday 23rd October 2009 withdraw his or her nomination, by giving to the returning officer a written notice of withdrawal, signed by the nominee.

12.6 Final listing of candidates will be made available on the 26th October 2009.

12.7 The ruling of the Returning Officer to be final in all cases.

13. Publication of Nominations

13.1A listing of candidates should as soon as practicable after ruling on the validity of nomination papers and not later than 26th October 2009, be brought to the attention of electors in each VEC school and centre for education and by other means as the Returning Officer considers appropriate, including school and VEC websites.

13.2The notice should be made available for each electoral constituency and should contain the name and address of each candidate validly nominated, and the names of the electors who nominated each candidate for the constituency for which the candidate is nominated.

14. Election of Members

14.1 Where in any VEC the number of duly nominated candidates exceeds the number of members to be elected for each constituency and panel, a poll shall be taken by the returning officer.

15. Date of Poll

15.1 In the event of a poll, the poll shall be undertaken between 9am and 9pm on 6th November 2009.

16. Polling Stations

16.1 Polling stations will be located in VEC schools

16.2 Where a school polling station is not within reasonable distance, a polling station may be located in a centre for education, where there are student enrolments of at least 50 students, who have not reached the age of 18 years on 30th September 2009.

17. Polling Cards

17.1 The Returning Officer shall as soon as practicable after the final date for confirmation of nominations in respect of each poll, but not later than 26th October 2009, send by post to every elector at his or her address, or as the returning officer considers appropriate, a polling card to include details such as the polling date, the elector's polling centre and polling number.

17.2. The Returning Officer shall prepare a statement in respect of each constituency electoral poll showing the total number of polling cards sent to electors under paragraph (1) in respect of each electoral constituency.

18.Ballot Papers

18.1 The returning officer shall prepare ballot papers for each constituency of electors in which a poll is to be taken (schedule 4 of SI 924 refers) setting out the names of the candidates alphabetically in the order of their surnames.

19.The official mark.

19.1. Every ballot paper shall be marked with an official mark which shall be either embossed or perforated so as to be visible on both sides of the paper.

19.2 The Returning Officer shall ensure that the official mark is kept secret prior to the issue of the ballot papers.

20. Ballot box.

20.1The Returning Officer shall provide a ballot box or ballot boxes for the reception of the ballot papers returned by the electors.

20.2Electors must produce suitable identification i.e. driving licence etc

20.3 Every ballot box referred to in paragraph (1) shall be sealed by the Returning Officer at the time fixed for the opening of the poll.

20.4 The returning officer shall after 9pm on polling day seal the ballot box or ballot boxes so that no further papers can be inserted and shall make provision for the safe custody of the box or boxes.

21. Time and place for counting of votes

21.1.The counting of votes shall commence at 9am on Saturday, 7th November 2009.

21.2 Each Returning Officer shall take due precautions for the security of the ballot papers and other documents relating to the polls in any intervening period.

21.3The Returning Officer shall appoint a place at which the votes will be counted and shall give each candidate notice of the time and place at which he or she will proceed to open the ballot boxes.

21.4For administrative reasons, it is advised that where possible the Centre used for purposes of the Local Authority election count should be utilised.

22.Attendance at the opening of the ballot box or ballot boxes and the counting of votes.

22.1 At the opening of the ballot box or ballot boxes and the counting of votes, no person other than candidates, the Returning Officer,the Returning Officer's assistants and the candidates' nominated agents may be present, except with the permission of the Returning Officer.

22.2 The Returning Officer shall give those presentall such reasonable facilities for observing the proceedings at the opening of the ballot box or ballot boxes and the counting of votes and all information in that respect consistent with the orderly conduct of the proceedings and the performance of the Returning Officer's duties and functions.

23.Conduct of the counting of votes

23.1 A Returning Officer shall for each poll cause the ballot papers to be scrutinised for the purpose of discovering any papers liable to be determined by the Returning Officer as invalid and shall, in accordance with directions, ascertain and record the number of votes given to each candidate.

23.2 In counting the votes for each poll the Returning Officer shall credit the candidates at the election with votes in accordance with directions.

23.3 Candidates or their agents shall not handle ballot papers during the counting of votes.

23.4 Schedule 5 to SI 924 sets out in detail the rules relating to the counting of votes.

24. Return of persons elected.

24.1 The Returning Officer shall, as soon as practicable, give to every candidate elected written notice of his or her election and shall furnish the relevant local authority, as appropriate, and the Vocational Education Committee with a list of the candidates certified by the returning officer to have been duly elected for each electoral constituency and panel.

25. Powers of Returning Officer.

25.1 Any question arising with regard to the eligibility of an elector or candidate, the validity of a nomination or ballot paper, or otherwise in connection with the election, shall be determined by the returning officer.

25.2 All voting papers received by the returning officer shall be retained by him or her for not less than12 months after the completion of the election.

26. Election of 4 members by Local Authority Members

26.1 The 2001 Act provides for the appointment by the local authority of 4 members, 2 male and 2 female, after consultation with the persons elected by the local authorities, parents and members of staff of the committee from among persons nominated by such bodies as, in the opinion of the council concerned, are representative of:

i)Students;

ii)Trustees of community colleges maintained by the VEC;

iii)Members of staff of the VEC other than members of staff belonging to the same class of member of staff as either of the staff elected;

iv)Voluntary organisations, community organisations, Irish language interests or

v)Persons carrying on in places within the VEC area concerned, trades, professions or commercial or industrial activities.

26.2 The appointment of members to the VEC pursuant to paragraph 26.1 shall take place following the holding of a meeting of the relevant local authority convened by that local authority with the persons elected to the VEC by the local authority, parents and staff, and notified in writing to all persons entitled to attend.

26.3 A notification under paragraph 26.2 shall be issued at least 7 days in advance of the holding of such meeting and will contain the names of those persons nominated for appointment and the names of the bodies who nominated them.

27. Election of Members by Local Authority

27.1 Pursuant to Section 7 of the 2001 Act, the gender balance of the members elected to VECs by local authorities will reflect the gender balance of the aggregate membership of the combined local authorities concerned.

28. Circulation

28.1 This Circular Letter should be circulated in the normal way.

29. Queries

29.1. 2057Any queries regarding the implementation of this Circular Letter should be addressed to the undersigned or Áine Cusack. (Tel: 090 6484232, Aine_Cusack@education.gov.ie).

Matthew Ryan

Principal Officer.

September 2009

Appendix 1

Calendar of dates - Election of Staff representatives to VECs

Calendar of dates - Election of Parent representatives to VECs

Appendix 2