Irish Vocational Education Association

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IVEA Cautiously Welcomes Budget Announcement on Further Education
7 April 2009
The Association Stresses Disappointment that the Increased Number of Places Fails to Address the Needs of Further Education
In cautiously welcoming the budget announcement of 6,910 additional places in Further and Higher Education, the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA) General Secretary, Michael Moriarty, has expressed disappointment that the additional places did not meet necessary requirements for further education. “Whilst the increase in places in Further and Higher Education is to be welcomed, the proposed allocation of places does not go near the minimum of 10,000 extra places required in further education alone,” said Michael Moriarty.
IVEA has campaigned consistently for a lifting of the cap on Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) places which has restricted approved places to 30,000. In this context the Minister for Finance's announcement of an additional 6,000 approved places to be allocated to the Further and Higher Education Sectors, while welcomed, is disappointing for the education sector.
IVEA General Secretary Michael Moriarty also states, "While I await definitive indication of the breakdown of places between Further and Higher Education, I am pleased that the Government has listened to IVEA's constant demand for additional places. There is a need however, for approximately 10,000 approved places in the Further Education Sector alone and it would seem that the breakdown of places as allocated to Further Education will come nowhere near that target figure. Further Education is the cornerstone on which the economy can rebuild its skills base. It appears that a lot of work still needs to be done to convince government that in a time of scarce resources, it is vital to target the skills enhancement role of Further Education.”
IVEA General Secretary Michael Moriarty also states, "While I await definitive indication of the breakdown of places between Further and Higher Education, I am pleased that the Government has listened to IVEA's constant demand for additional places. There is a need however, for approximately 10,000 approved places in the Further Education Sector alone and it would seem that the breakdown of places as allocated to Further Education will come nowhere near that target figure. Further Education is the cornerstone on which the economy can rebuild its skills base. It appears that a lot of work still needs to be done to convince government that in a time of scarce resources, it is vital to target the skills enhancement role of Further Education.”
The Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA) represents the interests, at national level of Ireland's thirty-three Vocational Education Committees (VECs).

The VECs are statutory education authorities currently delivering educational programmes up to 100,000 second level pupils and 200,000 adult education learners. The day-to-day administration of the association is carried out by the secretariat, headed by the General Secretary, Mr Michael Moriarty in the IVEA's head office in Dublin.
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