John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 256: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the rent being paid each year for office accommodation by Longford Vocational Educational Committee relative to their headquarters in Longford; the rent being paid by Westmeath VEC for their headquarters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1434/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

County Westmeath VEC has advised my Department that the annual rent payable on its headquarters premises is €118,300 while Co. Longford VEC has advised that the annual rent payable on its headquarter premises is €13.33.

On 29th June last, the Government decided to reduce the overall number of VECs from 33 to 16, to merge particular VECs, including the VECs covering the counties of Longford and Westmeath, and to approve in principle the consolidation of the existing VEC legislation. The merged VECs will become Education and Training Boards.

At the core of the Government decision to restructure the VECs is the need to address the current low scale and size of operations in particular VECs in order to position the sector for future development. This major structural change in the sector 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 for a broadening of its remit. For example, in July 2011, the Government decided that a new further education and training authority, to be called SOLAS, should be established. SOLAS will operate under the aegis of this Department and will co-ordinate and fund the wide range of further education and training programmes around the country. The new authority will initially take responsibility for all those FAS staff and premises not being transferred to the Department of Social Protection.

In time, FAS Training Centre staff and premises will be transferred to the new Education and Training Boards which will replace the VECs, (or, if deemed appropriate, the Institutes of Technology regarding apprentice instructors), so that they will be responsible for the delivery to the public of both further education and training services. This will ultimately mean that potential learners will access a form of 'one stop shop' as regards further education and training services, which will respond in an integrated way to their needs.

The restructuring will also facilitate the reductions that will be required in the number of administrative staff employed in the Education and Training Boards while protecting the services provided by VECs.

Last October, I decided on the headquarter locations for the new Education and Training Boards. In relation to the merger of Co. Longford VEC with Co. Westmeath VEC, I decided that the headquarters for the new VEC body will be in Mullingar. In arriving at this decision, 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. In terms of these criteria, I was aware that redeployment of staff from Longford to Mullingar is possible under the Croke Park agreement. However, I expect that the offices in Longford will remain open for some time and that the approach to redeployment will be measured and considered.