Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

66. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if PLC education in Dublin 15 will be provided; his plans to make sufficient PLC places available to persons in Dublin 15 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51812/17]

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Further Education and Training (FET) sector provides a broad range of provision at levels 1 to 6 of the National Framework of Qualifications, to meet the needs of over 300,000 learners.

The Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) programme is the largest of the full time FET programmes with over 30,000 PLC places available annually.  PLC provision is planned at a national level by SOLAS and the vast majority of courses are delivered through Education and Training Boards (ETBs).  In the context of the annual planning of FET provision, it is a matter for each ETB to determine how best to distribute and plan the programme allocations to meet the further education and training needs of their area.

FET provision for Dublin 15 is planned by Dublin Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board (DDLETB).  This year almost 3,200 PLC places were allocated to DDLETB and almost 8,000 PLC places were allocated to City of Dublin ETB.

More generally, in the context of the implementation of the FET Strategy 2014-2019, arrangements are being made by SOLAS in conjunction with my Department to conduct a series of evaluations of the employment focused FET programmes to ensure relevance to the labour market and the effective progression of participants.  The first of these evaluations, conducted by the ESRI and examining the PLC Programme, has recently been completed.  The report of the ESRI and the response of SOLAS to the findings of the evaluation will be published shortly.  Implementation of the recommendations will address a number of issues including the distribution of PLC places between ETBs and other providers.