Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Question 293: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of second level pupils, second level schools, further education students, further education facilities and other significant activities for each of the current vocational education committees and the position following the proposed reorganisation of the committees. [18971/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I set out below two tables for the information of the Deputy.

Table No. 1. sets out details in relation to numbers of second level pupils, places funded by my Department in Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses, Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS), Youthreach, Senior Traveller Training Centres and participants in Back to Education Initiative, Adult Literacy and Community Education in each VEC.

Table No. 2 sets out details in relation to numbers of Second level schools and further education centres. Details of the number of facilities where literacy, community education and Back to Education Initiative (BTEI) programmes are operated are not available. While VTOS is offered in PLC centres, in core groups in schools and in stand alone core centres, the tables only show the number of stand alone core centres to avoid double counting.

The Government decision to reconfigure the VEC sector will not impact on schools and other educational centres managed and operated by the VECs and will not affect teaching or other posts outside of head office functions in the merging VECs.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Question 294: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will detail the specific financial savings he has projected for his planned vocational education committee rationalisation; and the way this differs from previous plans. [18972/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The new VEC structure fits with the Government's policy of reducing the number of agencies and is consistent with the strategic objectives of the transforming public service agenda through service delivery by a smaller number of agencies, each benefiting from efficiencies of greater scale. This change will better position the sector for future development and will facilitate the required reductions, under the public service Employment Control Framework, of administrative staff employed in VECs, while protecting the services provided by VECs.

The Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes considered that the number of VECs could be reduced from 33 to 22 andsuggested that savings of €3million could be realised.

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 properties satisfactorily in the short term. Savings in administrative staffing costs are linked to natural wastage, the operating of the moratorium on recruitment and redeployment of surplus staff.

The reconfiguration can, over time, yield savings in the recurrent cost of the headquarter functions of VECs which, at present, is of the order of €40 million in total. The Government's decision to keep the number of new entities at 16 will assist in meeting the savings projected by the Special Group.

It is important to note that this decision impacts on the administrative HQ costs of the VECs. The range of programmes delivered by VECs are not impacted by this decision.

On entering office, I invited the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA) to submit alternative rationalisation proposals following their expression of concerns regarding the configuration of the revised entities decided by the previous government. The IVEA subsequently submitted a proposal that involved a reduction to 20 in the number of VECs. While I am satisfied that having regard to cost and critical mass considerations, a reduction to 16 new entities is appropriate, the new configuration takes account of the IVEA submission to the greatest extent possible.