VECs set to speed up school building projects
In a move giving greater responsibility to the 33 VECs when they will be replaced by 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs) next year, 27 projects at a mix of new schools and replacement buildings or extensions to existing schools are being devolved from the Department of Education to 13 VECs.
The move comes as the department tries to cope with demand for school places caused by Ireland’s soaring birth rate. It is at its highest since records began more than 50 years ago, according to Central Statistics Office. September figures showed that 19,950 children were born in the first three months of 2011 — 7.6% more than in the first quarter of last year.
