Radical plan will cut number of VECs from 33 to 16

THE number of VECs is to be halved under radical streamlining measures announced by the Government yesterday.

Under the plan unveiled by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn, the number of VECs will be cut from 33 to 16, with boards merging in almost every area.

Cork City and County VECs will merge, as will Co Dublin and Dun Laoghaire, while city and county VECs will also merge in Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

In addition, Galway will be joined by Roscommon VEC, Limerick by Clare VEC and Waterford by Wexford. Tipperary North and South will become one entity, and the three VECs in Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim will amalgamate. The only VECs to remain on their existing footing will be City of Dublin, Donegal and Kerry.

The IVEA (Irish Vocational Education Association), which had made a submission to the minister suggesting a cut in VECs to 20, gave a guarded welcome to the plan, which will now go before Cabinet.

But IVEA president Noel O’Connor admitted that the reconfiguration of some areas, particularly in the west from Galway to Leitrim, “raised some eyebrows”.

He said other decisions also had to be made, such as where the headquarters of the amalgamated VECs would be, but he said he understood there would be no compulsory redundancies and that current board members would remain in situ until the next round of appointments following local elections in 2014.

Speaking also as a member of Cork County VEC, he said he was disappointed it had been merged with the City of Cork VEC, as both had different areas of interest and a combined spend that put it second nationally only to City of Dublin VEC.

Regarding the mergers in the west he said: “There is a big enough spread from west Leitrim to Achill Island. It is some distance.”

However, he said the IVEA was committed to making the plan work.

The Department of Education confirmed there would be no job losses as part of the changes, or voluntary redundancies or incentives, but instead redeployment.

“The only staff immediately affected by this will be CEOs of VECs,” a departmental spokeswoman said.

She said the minister will be considering in due course where headquarters of the new VECs will be, but said they would be remaining in an existing building. Decisions will also be taken whether to sell unused or obsolete headquarters.

She said the 33 VECs will continue until the legislation is finalised, likely to be by the end of this year at the earliest, with decisions made on board composition then.