Vol. 473 No. 5
3 Ms Keogh asked the Minister for Education when the consultants engaged by her Department to advise on appropriate structures for the regional education boards and appropriate structures in her Department following the establishment of these boards will report back; the cost of the consultancy; and the estimate, if any, she has of the costs to be incurred in setting up these boards. [1934/97]
My Department engaged management consultants to: (a) review the organisation and structure of the Department, (b) make recommendations on its future organisation and structure and (c) make recommendations regarding (i) the operational planning for the establishment and (ii) the possible administrative structures of the proposed ten education boards.
It is estimated that the consultants will submit their report by March/April 1997. The cost of the consultancy study is £112,942 plus VAT and expenses are estimated at not more than £7,000.
Pending consideration of the report of the consultants by my Department and policy decisions relating to the phased establishment of the boards, it would not be appropriate for me to speculate at this stage on the possible costs of the various elements of administrative structures yet to be agreed.
Does the Minister not think it extraordinary that the Government could embark on a programme of increasing educational bureaucracy without attempting to have the cost implications assessed in advance? I accept that this consultants' report will be presented in March or April but will the Minister publish it? How will she establish the regional education boards? Will she disestablish some of the bureaucracy within the Department of Education while proceeding to establish regional education boards? Would she not agree that if she does so, the cost to the Exchequer will be substantial, even if she does not have a figure?
I intend to introduce education legislation which is one of the important steps in establishing the boards. That legislation will contain the necessary statutory provisions to meet the Government's commitment to deliver education regionally. In response to many years of discussion, consultation and criticism of the centralised nature of the Department of Education I am setting up the boards on a phased basis in the context of the education Estimates reflecting the scale of Exchequer funding. I remind the Deputy that I increased the education budget by more than £500 million since yesterday. The boards will be established within the overall context of the budgetary parameters and the Government's investment in education has not been found wanting.
We have discussed the gradual transfer of functions which will involve extensive negotiations with the unions. We have also negotiated on the rationalisation of the vocational education committees which means the town vocational education committees being amalgamated with the county vocational education committees and this is to happen within 12 months.
That is after the general election.
It is timely that the consultants be brought in to assist in planning for this transfer of functions because it requires a review of the current organisational structure of the Department. They have been asked to make recommendations and to ensure there will be no unnecessary expenditure. The administrative costs of the regional boards will represent significant value for money benefits to regions. The structure for the delivery of education will change and that has the potential for cost savings.
The education boards will involve changing and refocusing the administrative framework of the Department of Education. There will not be more expenditure but a reallocation of funding and of responsibilities within the system. All these matters are subject to the consultants' work and I have asked that the results be available in April or May of this year.
I am pleased that the consultants' report will be available in March or April. Is it not extraordinary to set up quangos such as the regional education boards before first identifying the organisational problems within the Department of Education? Is this not putting the cart before the horse? It seems an extraordinary way to go about planning, to first arrive at conclusions and then examine the questions which they answer.
The Minister says there is potential for savings within these boards. There may or may not be, but she does not know this. Did she have any idea how much the proposals would cost before publishing the Education Bill, 1997, which will establish these regional education boards?
I do not have to identify the problem. The administration of education has been the subject of many studies. The one which spearheaded a commitment by a Fianna Fáil Administration to devolve the work of the Department of Education to the regions was the OECD report. I have not got the relevant part of the resulting Green Paper with me — I thought Deputy Martin carried it around with him — but it referred to the regional delivery of education——
There was no provision in it for an intermediate tier.
——and taking on board criticism of the centralised nature of the delivery of education to enable us to respond to the needs of those who benefit from the education system, especially at regional level. Arising from that OECD report came commitments from many Administrations to decentralise and reorganise the delivery of education.
This was also the subject of discussion at the convention. There are many interested parties involved in education. It was decided that the partnership model which had developed well in Dublin Castle would be reflected in the delivery of education at regional level and that can be seen in the proposed composition of the boards.
The Government is committed to increasing investment in education to improve its delivery by decentralising work and regionalising the delivery of services. Consultants have been asked to make recommendations on staffing levels, structures, the implementation of operational plans and new administrative structures for the Department as well as the ten education boards. They must have regard to the provision set out in the White Paper for the phased development of the boards. In the area of education there are few surprises, the changes have been signalled. There is a commitment that the proposal be implemented on a phased basis when the studies are completed and the education legislation is enacted.
I do not believe that partnership requires quangos. There is no need to set up ten educational boards with all the administrative backup that requires. That will be a nightmare of bureaucracy. The Minister gave a hint as to when the boards will be set up, but has she a date in mind and how gradual will be the process? She did not answer my earlier question on dismantling bureaucracy in the Department of Education while at the same time setting up ten boards. Has she plans in that regard?
Lest the Deputy thinks she has convinced me that I am creating quangos, I do not see the ten regional education boards as quangos. In response to the needs of the education system I am introducing legislation that will put education on a statutory basis. The roles, rights and responsibilities of the partners in education, who have constitutional entitlements, will be spelled out in the legislation which will provide for the setting up of the regional boards. This is part of the modernisation of the delivery of education, now that education is no longer the privilege of the few but the entitlement of all. There are partners involved who were not previously recognised in the planning of the education provision, which is the constitutional entitlement of our young people.
The setting up of boards is a careful plan to respond to the modernisation needs of the education system. The Deputy speaks of enormous bureaucracy as if it were a dirty word. I am proposing the administration of a system regionally. It is better to set up ten regional boards than 30 talking shops with no responsibilities and no budget, as the Deputy's party is planning. The regional boards are a reasonable response to the needs of the education system. The first function of the boards will be to use funding within the classroom. They will not be seen as quangos but as a modern response to the needs of a modern education system. It is the right way to chart and plan for the future.
