Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 311: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills if she plans to issue a directive to all third level institutions ordering the temporary registration of all grant applicants until such a time as the grant has been fully processed. [33335/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Admissions to third level institutions and the registration of students in this regard is, in the first instance, a matter for the institutions themselves. However, I have asked the Higher Education Authority to request that institutions exercise the maximum flexibility in respect of the payment of the student services charge for those still awaiting a decision on grant applications and I understand that the institutions are operating on this basis.

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 312: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills if she will deploy additional staff in local authorities and vocational educational committees in order to process grant applications in a timely manner in order to avoid delays such as that which occurred at the beginning of the 2009-2010 academic year. [33336/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware of the Government decision to implement a recruitment and promotion moratorium in the public sector.

Under section 159 of the Local Government Act, 2001, the staffing requirement in each local authority area is a matter for the relevant Manager, who is required to make such staffing and organisational arrangements as may be necessary for the purposes of carrying out the functions of the local authorities for which he/she is responsible.

In respect of Vocational Education Committees, positions other than teacher and SNA posts in schools, and teacher equivalents that are directly providing tuition to pupils in schools, in special programmes or in an adult and further education, are comprehended by this decision. It is a matter for each VEC to implement work prioritisation across different functions, and to deploy available staff to execute those functions.