Irish Vocational Education Association

Statement by IVEA General Secretary Michael Moriarty: “While I commend the Minister for protecting schools from the worst excesses of the Budget cuts regime the education programmes available to adult students have not been similarly accommodated” says Michael Moriarty, General Secretary.

There has been huge demand for PLC programmes because of the current deep recession yet the number of places remains capped at 31,500.
The part-time modular Back to Education Initiative was cut by 500 places in 2009 and there has been no restoration of these places in 2010.
Adult education programmes are unable to meet the hugely increased demands because of unemployed adults seeking to upskill or re-enter education.

"I am most concerned at the cutting of 300 Senior Traveller Training Centre places in the Budget which indicates that the centres could be closed over a three year time frame. How can travellers be accommodated in other programmes in an adult education service where there are already queues for admission to a range of educational programmes?

This is an issue which must be addressed. IVEA had an expectation that the centres would be closed gradually over a longer time frame so that travellers could be supported with sufficient resources to transfer to other educational programmes, but only in circumstances where the capacity exists".

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© IVEA 2012