Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 131: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills her plans regarding the proposal to amalgamate the vocational educational committees of Kerry, Limerick and Limerick city; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39858/10]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 138: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the estimated savings that will accrue from the restructuring of the vocational education committee model; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40079/10]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 139: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the criteria considered in the context of developing the restructured vocational education committee model; the factors that led to the final proposal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40080/10]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 140: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills if, in the context of the restructuring of vocational education committees, administrative staff will be made redundant or redeployed; the savings that will accrue in this regard; the number of staff that will be affected; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40081/10]

Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 157: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the amount of money she expects to save by the amalgamation of the vocational education committees; the savings expected and the way they will be made regarding the amalgamation of Cavan and Monaghan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40308/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 131, 138 to 140, inclusive, and 157 together.

The Government has decided to reduce the overall number of VECs from 33 to 16 and to the merger of particular city and or counties. My Department has commenced work on the preparation of legislation so that it can be brought forward in 2011. I have framed this restructuring, having regard to the need to address the current low scale and size of operations in particular VECs together with the need to retain and support the flexibility and adaptability which has characterised the VEC sector to date along with the requirement to meet future challenges across the school sector generally. In addition, geographic factors such as the total area covered by a VEC, the distance between extremities of the area, the road network within the area and the alignment of other regional structures have been taken into account in arriving at these combinations.

I am satisfied that the scale of operations of a significant number of VECs makes restructuring of the sector a key priority to ensure that each VEC has the critical mass of activity while at the same time, retaining the flexibility and responsiveness to meet the needs of the population for which it caters. A VEC's budget for service delivery is the broadest measure of activity. In order to ensure that each VEC will have the required critical mass of operations under the revised structure, I sought to bring as many of the new VEC areas as possible, taking account of the other criteria outlined earlier to a level of activity which would require a budget of €50 million. In this new arrangement, the smallest VEC will have a budget of €39 million and the median for the individual budget measure of scale of operations will move from €26 million at present to €59 million with 13 of the proposed 16 VECs having a budget of €50 million or more.

Flexibility and responsiveness to changing and emerging needs has been a general feature of the operation of VECs. I am satisfied that this restructuring of VECs will not only retain and support this demonstrated capacity for flexibility and adaptability but also position the VEC sector to meet future challenges across the school sector generally and the proposed reconfiguration has been framed on that basis. Some of the likely savings from the restructuring of the VECs will come from the sale of existing VEC buildings. The potential revenue to be raised from the sale of these assets, however, is closely linked to the current state of the property market and it may not be possible to dispose of such buildings satisfactorily in the short term.

This reconfiguration can over time yield savings in the recurrent cost of the headquarter functions of VECs which at present is of the order of €42 million in total, primarily comprising pay provision. The Special Group suggested savings of €3 million. I am satisfied that a saving of that order is reasonable in the medium term.

Many of the detailed aspects of the restructuring, including the location of the headquarters of the new VECs and the number of administrative staff which each of the new VEC entities will have, will be considered and worked through by my Department in conjunction with the VECs involved in any one merger before decisions are taken. Implementation will involve consultation and negotiations with the unions representing employees in the sector and other stakeholders. The Croke Park Agreement provides the backdrop for these negotiations.