Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Question 165: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the national criteria for determining head office locations for merging vocational education committees; how the criteria were applied in the decision to locate the head office for Cavan Monaghan Vocational Education Committee in Monaghan town; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30057/11]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Question 166: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the projected savings arising from the decision to locate the head office for Cavan Monaghan Vocational Education Committee in Monaghan town; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30059/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 165 and 166 together.

In arriving at my decision in relation to the location of headquarters of the merged VECs, I considered a range of factors including the need to ensure that the location of a VEC headquarters will, to the greatest extent possible, facilitate staff redeployment under a redeployment scheme within the context of the Croke Park Agreement and the need to operate at lowest cost having regard to the accommodation available in existing locations.

The distance between Cavan and Monaghan marginally exceeds the 45 km distance agreed under the Croke Park Agreement in relation to redeployment and may preclude redeployment of staff currently employed in Cavan to Monaghan and vice versa. Consequently, I decided that a sub-office would be required for the foreseeable future. In determining Monaghan as a headquarter location I was aware that both VECs are very closely matched on the criteria mentioned above although Co. Monaghan VEC has marginally more second level schools under its control.

It would be very difficult to accurately predict the savings which will arise from any one particular merger. The Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes suggested that overall savings of €3 million could be realised. The reconfiguration to 16 can, over time, yield such savings in the recurrent cost of the headquarter functions of VECs which, at present, is of the order of €40 million in total.