Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 344: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will report on the establishment of the new further education and training facility, SOLAS; if the new body is fully operational yet and, if not, when it will be; the number of staff that will be allocated to SOLAS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18567/12]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Following the Government decision to create SOLAS, an Implementation Group was set up to establish SOLAS. I am chairing this Group and its membership includes representatives from the Department of Education and Skills, FÁS, the Irish Vocational Education Association and the Department of Social Protection. The Group has been meeting regularly to drive the process forward. The Heads of a Bill have been approved by Government and will shortly be referred to the Office of the Attorney General for drafting purposes. A public consultation process with key stakeholders has recently been completed. In addition, a number of projects are currently being undertaken to ensure the smooth integration of the further education and training sectors. Following the establishment of SOLAS, FÁS Training Centre staff will be integrated into the appropriate Vocational Education Committees. The staff of SOLAS will initially comprise of remaining FÁS staff not transferring to the VECs, essentially staff currently working in central administration in FÁS head office. The exact number will depend on the timing of the transfer to SOLAS. Given the complex elements involved, including enacting appropriate legislation, it is expected that the process of establishing SOLAS will be completed by the end of 2012.