Vol. 536 No. 5
365 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Education and Science if his Department has received correspondence from a person (details supplied); if so, if he will ensure that, if required, the appropriate finance is provided to allow this appointment proceed without further delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14761/01]
Each vocational education committee receives an administrative staffing allocation from my Department to be deployed in the best manner possible to meet the needs of the committee's schools and other needs, including adult education.
Staffing levels in vocational education committees are reviewed from time to time by my Department. The Deputy will appreciate that any variation in VEC administrative staffing allocations must be considered in the context of staffing norms in the VEC sector as a whole. The current staffing of the VEC concerned is in line with structures in similar sized vocational education committees.
A national review is currently under way that involves an examination of the organisational structures of vocational education committees and is taking into account their staffing and resourcing needs. When the review is complete my Department will enter into discussions with relevant parties concerning the implementation of the recommendations in the context of Government policy on public sector pay and staffing levels.
In the case of the VEC concerned all administrative posts sanctioned by my Department have been filled by the VEC. Accordingly, a permanent appointment cannot be made. If a permanent post were sanctioned the VEC's procedures would require applications for the post to be invited by public advertisement.
