Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 129: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the criteria that is being used for selection of headquarters for the newly configured vocational educational committees. [21779/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Earlier this year my Department invited submissions from the relevant parties on the location of the headquarters for the new VEC entities, resulting from the reduction in the number of VECs from 33 to 16.

At the outset of this process, my Department advised that a fundamental requirement will be the need to ensure that the location of a VEC headquarters will, to the greatest extent possible, facilitate distance requirements under which staff may be redeployed to that location under a redeployment scheme, as envisaged in the Croke Park Agreement. In addition, parties were reminded of the need to operate at lower cost having regard to accommodation available in existing locations.

I am currently giving consideration to the question of where the headquarters of the new entities will be located. The outcome of these deliberations will be announced in the coming period.