Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the projected savings from the closure of the adult refugee programme run by vocational education committees throughout the country [45859/12]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the support alternatives for refugees and migrant workers he will put in place if the expected closure of adult refugee programmes goes ahead [45860/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 216 and 217 together.

Annual funding from my Department for the Adult Refugee Programme (ARP) was in the region of €2.5 million. This funding will cease at the end of this year so the projected saving is in the region of €2.5 million. Migrants, including workers and refugees, will continue to be able to access a range of courses that have always been provided by Vocational Education Committees (VECs) under the Adult Literacy and Community Education Scheme (ALCES) and the Back to Education Initiative (BTEI), both of which are funded by my Department. In 2011, some 11,000 people people accessed English as a Second Language (ESOL) courses provided under the ALCES and BTEI programmes, including over 1,300 refugees. In this way, the needs of refugees can continue to be provided for by VECs.