Dublin South West Sinn Féin TD, Seán Crowe, raised the reduction of VTOS places for the Tallaght area in the Dáil and challenged the Minister of State for Training and Skills, Ciarán Cannon, on the decision, which he described as discriminatory.

Crowe said that reducing the VTOS places in Tallaght by 20 makes no economic sense and would negatively affect the area which suffers from some of the highest youth unemployment in the country.

Deputy Crowe said:

“At present, there is a proposal to take vocational training opportunities scheme, VTOS, training places from Tallaght and give them to Balbriggan.

“Tallaght has one of the highest rates of unemployment among those between the ages of 18 and 24 in the country. Tallaght was more affected than any other area by the collapse in the building trade. Construction had provided employment for many young people in Tallaght and many of these individuals now require help in order that they might retrain and upskill.

“I requested that the decision to transfer the training places to Balbriggan be put on hold. There is no logic to what is being done. The decision does not make any sense and will put Tallaght and Walkinstown at a huge disadvantage.

“These vocational training opportunities scheme places are vital and are part of the upskilling and employment-finding process. If this proposal goes ahead Balbriggan will then have two VTOS places for every 1,000 residents while Tallaght and Walkinstown will have less than one for every 1,000 residents.

“Where is the logic or fairness in that? Why does Balbriggan deserve more than Tallaght and Walkinstown? It is not simply a case of being against resources going to Balbriggan, but this is discriminating against the people of Tallaght and Walkinstown.

“It is an ill-thought-out decision and will have a very negative effect on Tallaght and its hinterland.

Crowe continued:

“The Minister of State told me that the decision was made by the Education Training Board and he seems determined to follow through on and to follow through on that decision, regardless of the negative effects it will have.

“The Minister of State needs to reconsider this backward decision, intervene personally and do the right thing for Tallaght and Walkinstown.

“I would also like to know what positions local Councillors who are on this Board took. The Board and why they didn’t object to this discriminative practice.”

ENDS