Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 October 2025
920. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the reasons the further education programmes offered linked to community schools receive less funding than other further education centres; the plans in place to address this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55190/25]
View answerThe Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) programme is designed to provide specific vocational skills to those who have completed senior cycle, to adults returning to education deemed to have the necessary competencies, and to those who are unemployed and seeking to upskill. PLC courses represent the largest component of full-time Further Education and Training (FET) provision at NFQ level 5-6.
PLCs are delivered by all 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs), and additionally, in 2025, by eight independent Voluntary Secondary and Community Schools (VSCCS).
SOLAS have advised my officials that funding allocations for PLC, whether through ETBs or directly to VSCCS, are based on a combination of teacher pay, quality assurance grants, capitation grants (including enhanced grants, e.g. the School Student Support Fund), and the eligibility of earners under the Fund of Student with Disabilities, all of which vary by provider depending on the profile of their teaching staff and the number of learners.
