Vol. 505 No. 1
262 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Education and Science the Acts and provisions of Acts not in force by reason of the fact that a commencement order has not been made; if such an order will be made; if so, when it will be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13252/99]
264 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Education and Science the proposals for legislation being prepared under the auspices of his Department where heads have not yet been approved by the Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13283/99]
265 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Education and Science the proposals for legislation being prepared under the auspices of his Department where heads have been approved by Government; the expected date of publication; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13302/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 262, 264 and 265 together.
The only Act under my Department which has not been commenced in full is the Education Act, 1998. The Act was enacted last December and in February I made an order commencing 21 of the 59 sections of the Act. I will commence the remaining provisions in a phased way, following consultation with the education partners. It is my intention that the entire Act will be commenced without delay, but in any case the Act itself provides that all provisions will be commenced two years after enactment, 23 December 2000.
My Department is at present in the process of preparing the heads of the Vocational Education (Amendment) Bill. This Bill will amend the Vocational Education Acts by providing for the representation of staff of vocational education committees and parents of students in VEC schools on the committees. The Bill will also update the provisions on accountability and management in the committees in line with practice in health boards and local authorities. I intend to seek Government approval for the heads of the Bill in the near future.
As regards Bills, the heads of which have been approved by the Government, there are three. The Teaching Council Bill and the Youth Work (Amendment) Bill are both at drafting stage and publication is expected later this year. Drafting is at an advanced stage in respect of the Regional Technical Colleges (Amendment) (Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown) Bill. This Bill will place the Institute of Technology at Blanchardstown on a statutory footing within the legislation relating to the other institutes. Publication of this Bill is expected in this session.
