Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 22 Jun 1999

Vol. 506 No. 5

Adjournment Debate. - Vocational Education Committees.

Mr. Durkan

I thank the Chair for allowing me raise this matter on the Adjournment. It goes without saying that in the past 40 years or so the population of County Kildare has increased dramatically, having more than doubled. This is evidenced by the fact that County Kildare, once a three seater constituency, has been divided into two three seater constituencies. Likewise, the education sector has increased dramatically in terms of scale and spread throughout the county. What was a very small VEC area of responsibility in the 1960s has become an intricate network of highly sophisticated VEC schools throughout the county, and I refer specifically to north Kildare, my constituency. In this regard it should be noted that with an increase in responsibilities, the number of staff to be administered to and the number of calls to the VEC, there is an obvious strain on the administration centre.

In the recent past there has been evidence of this strain which has been brought to the attention of the current and previous Ministers. We are now at the stage where industrial action is being taken, which is justifiable on the basis that the number of staff in the VEC service in County Kildare is inadequate to deal with the workload. I ask the Minister to personally intervene and ascertain to what extent he can alleviate the problem with a view to ensuring that the potential hardship to those most likely to be affected is averted. I refer to those who are paid on a weekly basis, namely, cleaners in various schools, part-time staff, be they teachers or administrative staff, and secretaries in schools and VEC headquarters. None of these people will be paid in the current climate unless matters are resolved.

I hope the Minister can offer some resolution to the problem. The matter has been in need of attention for some considerable time, it is not the fault of the current Minister that things have developed in this way. I hope on this occasion that the matter will be finally and satisfactorily resolved from the point of view of all concerned.

Dr. Moffatt

I thank Deputy Durkan for raising this matter. It gives the Minister an opportunity to clarify the position in relation to the allocation of non-teaching staffing resources to vocational education committees generally, with particular reference to an application for an increased staffing allocation received by County Kildare VEC from IMPACT, the union which represents clerical and administrative staff in the VEC sector.

The allocation of clerical, administrative and maintenance staff in the vocational education sector is made on a scheme-wide basis and it is a matter for each vocational education committee to deploy sanctioned staff in the best manner possible to meet the needs of the committee and its schools. The Deputy will be aware that any case for an increase in staffing has to be approached in the context of Government policy on public service numbers and staffing norms in the VEC sector as a whole.

County Kildare VEC has made a number of representations to the Department concerning the adequacy of staffing levels in the scheme based on increases in pupil numbers and expansion of programmes.

Arising from previous claims for an improved grading structure and staffing increase, the Department carried out an examination of the staffing levels in 1995. In addition, the grading structure of the VEC was evaluated by an independent consultant. Arising from these reports, the clerical staff complement for County Kildare VEC was increased from 15.8 to 17.8 posts and a new senior management grade was created in the committee. This allocation was arrived at on the basis that it compared favourably with other schemes of similar size. Further increases in the administrative staffing complement of the VEC have since been approved by the Department to support the ESF and PLC student maintenance grant schemes and the operation of the VTOS and Youthreach programmes.

In his report on the grading structure to apply in the VEC, the independent consultant recommended that the need for the appointment of an assistant principal officer in the VEC should be reviewed at a later date. The Department has agreed to have this review carried out but IMPACT indicated that this was not acceptable and requested a full review of its structure and threatened industrial action, including an all out strike from Monday last.

The Department is not opposed in principle to the carrying out of a staffing review in County Kildare. However, the Department has also received similar requests from many other vocational education committees. The Minister wants to ensure that these requests are dealt with in an equitable and timely manner. With that in mind, work is currently under way on the development of an agreed framework for looking at staffing claims generally from the VEC sector. The Department expects to be in a position to finalise the detailed arrangements shortly following discussions with all relevant interests, including staffing and management representatives.

With regard to the threat of strike action, the Minister is pleased to say that following discussions over the weekend IMPACT has agreed to a deferral of its action and a meeting with the VEC and the Department under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission has been set for tomorrow. The Minister is hopeful that these discussions will address the particular difficulties of County Kildare VEC staff while also allowing for the development of the proposed framework.

The Minister wishes to assure the Deputy that he is committed to providing the necessary resources to assist vocational education committees in meeting their obligations within the constraints already outlined. He is confident that the proposed framework will better inform his Department concerning the level of pressures and demands falling to be met by vocational education committees, including County Kildare VEC, so that an appropriate and timely response can be made by the Department.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.03 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 23 June 1999.