OKeeffe hints at more cuts to services
- Published: 19 September 2008
FURTHER cuts to education services look likely after next months budget as Education Minister Batt OKeeffe hinted there would be little or no increases in spending.
He also stressed the need for greater efficiency from public bodies like Vocational Education Committees and possibly centralising the payment of their 8,000 school teachers into his department.
He was speaking at the annual congress of the Irish Vocational Education Association representing the 33 VECs which manage second level schools, further education colleges, adult education programmes and youth work services.
They have already been told they must cut their pay budgets next year by 3%, with an exemption given for teachers and special needs assistants.
Similar cost reductions have been sought from third-level colleges and agencies funded by the Department of Education.
But Mr OKeeffe hinted at further cuts or freezes across the education sector when he set out the economic context in which he will be discussing education spending in the coming weeks with Finance Minister Brian Lenihan.
I must be realistic and the education sector must be realistic that the priority in the year ahead will be to take the right decisions, to ensure past improvements in services can be consolidated and improved upon into the future.
I will be working within the fiscal parameters set down by the Finance Minister to ensure we can maximise the return for taxpapers money in education investment.
We must still ensure that efficiencies are achieved wherever possible and that we get optimal performance across the sector, including VECs, he said.
But IVEA president Cllr Mary Bohan warned they have no room for significant belt-tightening despite the 3% pay bill instruction from the minister.
Insisting on this crude cut will cause a significant reduction in their capacity to deliver effective programmes targeting disadvantage and a consequent less-than-efficient use of Government investment in these programmes, she said.
Concerns were raised at the conference about the ability of VECs to operate student grant schemes which they are due to take over from next year, if their administration staffing has to be cut.
But Mr OKeeffe said that, just as the IVEA is discussing centralising the processing of all grants, he may consider centralising payroll of teachers in VEC schools into his department.
We pay all the primary and other second level teachers and why should it be any different for the VECs? So it isnt a question always of necessarily making additional resources and more money available, he said.
While such a move would probably not be opposed by teacher unions, it could cause difficulties among those representing VEC administrative staff who process teachers pay.
