Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 151: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the reason post leaving certificate students and colleges were excluded form his announcement last week of funding for IT equipment (details supplied) [39024/10]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 153: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills further to her announcement on 15 October 2010, that 698 post primary schools would receive €21 million in grants for information and communications technology equipment, the reason 34 vocational educational committee schools have been excluded from this funding; the rationale behind this decision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39053/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 151 and 153 together.

As the Deputies are aware, I recently announced the distribution of €20.75m in post-primary level ICT Infrastructure grants under the ICT in Schools Programme. These capital grants are designed to assist schools in the integration of ICT into teaching and learning in a curricular context from Junior to Senior cycles. At present, there is a particular emphasis on supporting the revised Maths curricula in tandem with the national rollout of Project Maths.

The PLC programme is a self-contained whole-time learning experience designed to provide successful participants with specific vocational skills to enhance their prospects of securing lasting, full-time employment, or progression to other studies. It caters for those who: have completed senior cycle education, and require further vocational education and training to enhance their prospects of employment or progression to other studies; are adults returning to education, who may not have completed the senior cycle, but are deemed by the provider to have the necessary competencies and capacity to undertake the programme.

The aim of the PLC programme is to provide participants with specific vocational skills. It is intended, therefore, that this programme will provide for a more intensive development of technical skills, including new technologies, combining opportunities for work experience, vocational studies and general studies. Providers must demonstrate a labour market justification for the programmes being proposed. Therefore programme content must be relevant to labour market needs and/or progression to further studies.

Staff are allocated to deliver PLC courses on the basis of a pupil teacher ratio (PTR) of 17:1. Enhanced PLC capitation of €185.38 in addition to the standard post-primary non-pay grants is provided, based on the number of approved places or enrolments in the previous academic year, whichever is the lower. The annual grant is intended to help defray overheads on PLC courses including repairs and maintenance. Learners who satisfy the terms of the PLC Maintenance Grant Scheme are eligible to receive maintenance grants. In this context, it would not have been appropriate to include PLC enrolments in the ICT Infrastructure Grants, which focus on second-level curricular contexts from junior to senior cycle.