Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 January 2013
227. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if any impact assessment was carried out prior to announcing the two point increase in post leaving certificate schools in budget 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57816/12]
View answerThe Department had regard to a range of factors in considering the impact of this decision, including the allocation of additional approved PLC places to providers in recent years and the demonstrated capacity of most providers to cater for enrolments above the approved number of places. As is the case in the implementation of such decisions in other parts of the education sector, the precise arrangements for implementation are a matter for local management; in this case, Chief Executive Officers of Vocational Education Committees (VECs) and their Principals and staff.
As the change will not take effect until September 2013, VECs have until then to plan for the reduced allocation across the schools/colleges under their remit and to work with their Principals and staff to ensure they can continue to deliver programmes which closely meet the needs of both students and employers.
While it would be preferable not to have to make any changes, it is hard to justify providing a more generous PTR in PLC - which is mainly geared to school leavers and adults returning to education - than second-level schools - which cater for teenagers. This decision is being made at a time when the Government has succeeded in protecting class sizes in primary and free second-level schools for the coming year, ensuring that our limited resources are rightly focussed on the children in our education system.
