CAROL HANNEY

CITY OF DUBLIN EDUCATION AND TRAINING BOARD

BRIEFING PAPER ON CDETB FOR THE COMMITTEE OF

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

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Table of Contents

Introduction Page 2

Profile of Second Level Education Provision Page 3

Profile of Further Education and Training Page 3

Corporate Governance Page 9

End of Year Financial Statements Page 10

SUSI- Student Universal Support Ireland Page 14

Appendix 1: Map of CDETB provision across the city Page 18

Appendix 2: Expenditure for Calendar Years 2010-2017 Page 20

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Briefing Paper for the Committee of Public Accounts on the work of

City of Dublin Education and Training Board

Introduction

The City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB) was established under The Education and Training Boards Act 2013. Following ministerial approval, the City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee was dissolved as of 1st July 2013 (Section 55) and the City of Dublin Education and Training Board was officially established. The national awarding authority for student grants in Ireland, Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), established in 2012, is also a significant unit of CDETB. On the 1st January 2014 the training provision previously delivered by FÁS/ SOLAS was

transferred into CDETB. This included approximately 130 staff operating a range of

programmes and services in two training centres, in Finglas and Ballyfermot.

Vision and beliefs of CDETB

The Education and Training Board Act 2013 gives a wide remit to CDETB in education at first

and second level as well as adult and further education, training and youth services.

The mission statement of CDETB is to provide professional high quality education and training

services for people in Dublin City that contribute both to the personal development of the

individual as well as to the overall social, economic and cultural development of the city –

think people, think service, think Dublin City.

Summary of the work of CDETB

CDETB manages 23 schools and colleges across the City. CDETB also delivers programmes in

10 Youthreach Centres, in 7 prisons and in specialist projects targeting people in

homelessness, asylum seekers and migrant workers and also dealing with issues such as drug

rehabilitation. In addition, the Adult Education Service provides a wide variety of adult and

community programmes.

CDETB delivers on its statutory obligations to support the development of youth work through

its youth service, CDYSB, which supports and funds youth work services across the City of

Dublin.

CDETB funds community and voluntary sector managed programmes and services through 13

Community Training Centres and 6 Local Training Initiatives, 5 Specialist Training Providers

and 12 Community Education Centres.

CDETB provides a further education and training service which leads directly to employment

or progression within further education or to higher level.

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Profile of the Second Level Provision CDETB has a long tradition in providing second level education and is committed to success,

raising expectations, providing opportunities and striving to meet the needs of all students in

caring and supportive settings. Besides providing a strong academic and creative

environment each school offers dynamic extra-curricular provision in sports and cultural

activities. The second level schools follows the national curriculum of a three-year Junior

Cycle, followed by a two or three year Senior Cycle depending on whether the optional

Transition Year (TY) is taken.

The following schools offer second level education

Cabra Community College Marino College Coláiste Dhύlaigh Post Primary Plunket College Coláiste Eoin Presentation College Kylemore College Ringsend College Larkin Community College St. Kevin’s College Margaret Aylward Community College Clonturk Community College

Profile of Further Education and Training CDETB offers an extensive programme of full time and part-time education and training courses at QQI levels 4, 5 and 6. It also funds community and voluntary sector bodies to manage and deliver programmes and

services through 13 Community Training Centres, 6 Local Training Initiatives, 5 Specialist

Training Providers and 12 Community Education Centres.

Over 400 full-time Further Education and training courses are provided in each academic year. The majority of these courses are accredited by QQI and a number attract Higher National Diplomas and other qualifications. Our Further Education Colleges provide an extensive range of PLC courses to over 7,000 learners comprising of school leavers and adults returning to learning. These courses are usually of one or two years in duration. The two training centres provide full-time and part time skills training in construction, health care, IT, apprenticeship and traineeship in the fields of electrical, construction, mechanical, engineering. The training centres also fund the community based training provision in CTCs, LTIs and Specialist Training Providers. The following colleges and Training centres offer further education and training

Ballsbridge College of Further Education Plunket College of Further Education

Ballyfermot College of Further Education Rathmines College of Further Education

Whitehall College of Further Education Pearse College of Further Education

St. Kevins College Inchicore College of Further Education

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Colaiste Dhulaigh College of Further Education

Crumlin College of Further Education

Killester College of Further Education Colaiste Ide of Further Education

Marino College Liberties College of Further Education

Kylemore College Ringsend College

Ballyfermot Training Centre Finglas Training Centre

Statistics in respect of FET Provision

In 2016, CDETB delivered programmes leading to 23,752 QQI component awards across a

range of fields of learning, of which the top 3 fields were: 6,093 component awards in Generic

Programmes (such as maths, IT Skills, Writing); 4,063 component awards were in the Business,

Administration and Law field of learning, and 3,554 were in Health and Welfare (with

Childcare the top award title in this field).

The following table taken from the FARR System outlines the number of learners per

programme who have benefited from CDETB courses in the full calendar years 2015 and 2016.

Please note an individual learner could have benefited from more than one course in a

calendar year. The figures in the table below are taken from the Funding Allocation Resource

and Request (FARR) system which is used to report to SOLAS. They will in some cases differ

from numbers contained in the Financial Statements as traditionally some Annual Returns

had learners counted on a modular basis or at a point in time.

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Source FARR Provision and Reporting Data 2015 and 2016

FET Provision 2015, 2016, Per Programme

Full Time Provision Number of

Learners 2015 Number of

Learners 2016

Apprenticeship Training 1,220 1,316

Bridging and Foundation Training 233 85

Community Training Centres 2,527 1,175

Justice Workshop 148 122

Local Training Initiatives 437 242

Post Leaving Cert Courses 15,455 14,900

Specialist Training Providers 1,562* 855

Specific Skills Training 1,701 1,150

Traineeship Training 537 533

VTOS Core 726** 1,368

Youthreach 1,097 1,083

Full Time Provision Total 24,917 22,829

Part Time Provision

Adult Literacy Groups 7,051 5,963

BTEI Groups 2,343 2,473

English as a Second Language Courses 1,925 2,251

Evening Training 3,468 2,786

FET Co-operation Hours 9,691 7,495

ITABE 282 264

Skills for Work 179 82

Voluntary Literacy Tuition 774 690

Part Time Provision Total 25,713 22,004

Part Time Unaccredited Provision

Community Education 7,911 8,122

Part Time Unaccredited Provision Total 7,911 8,122

CDETB FET Programme Provision Totals 58,541 52,955

*Most trainees were recorded twice the first year of FAR because of the continuous intake of students on these courses

**As per the VTOS Survey 2015 which shows the Number of Learners enrolled as of 31st December 2015. VTOS Core figures were not recorded on FARR in 2015

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The following table sets out the expenditure per programme above for 2015 and 2016

FET Provision 2015, 2016 Expenditure Per Programme

2015 €’000s

2016 €’000s

Apprenticeship Training 5,867 6,976

Bridging and Foundation Training 428 184

Community Training Centres 11,377 10,310

Justice Workshops 305 258

Local Training Initiatives 1,972 1,621

Specialist Training Providers 10,201 8,602

Specific Skill Training 5,959 4,302

Traineeships 2,804 3,225

Evening Courses 1,071 1,188

Training Centre Pay and Operational Costs 7,474 7,392

Capital Costs- Training Centre 140 90

Total Training Costs 47,598 44,148

VTOS Core and Dispsered 12,925 13,084

Youthreach 9,921 9,314

Post Leaving Cert 1,874 1,936

Adult Literacy 4,339 4,788

Intensive Adult Literacy Tuition 226 225

Back to Education Initiative 1,872 2,397

Adult Education Guidance Services 595 633

Community Education 1,614 1,772

Innovation Projects 1,135 1,399

Advocate 50 52

Operational Costs 1,604 1,756

Total Further Education 36,155 37,356

Total 83,753 81,504

Note: Post Leaving Cert instruction wages and salaries are not included in the above costs as they are reported

to and funded separately by Department of Education and Skills. The FET provision above is funded by SOLAS.

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FET Provision Skills Cluster, Percentage Breakdown 2016

Number Of Learners

Actual Number of Learners 2016

Percentage Proportion of

Total per Cluster

Agriculture, Horticulture and Mariculture 286 1% Animal Science 221 1% Art, Craft and Media 4,750 20% Built Environment 1,255 5% Business, Admin & Management 4,095 17% Financial Services 336 1% Food and Beverage 418 2% Hairdressing, Beauty and Complementary Therapies 1,123 5% Health, Family other Social Services 6,525 27% Information Technology 2,155 9% Manufacturing 1,233 5% Natural Resources 61 0% Sales & Marketing 240 1% Sampling Skills 220 1% Science and Technology 393 2% Tourism and Sport 851 4% Transport, Distribution & Logistics 36 0%

Total 24,198 100%

General Learning 28,757 54%

Overall Total 52,955

Source FARR Provision and Reporting Data 2016

Youthreach Youthreach is an education and training programme aimed at early school leavers aged between 16 and 20 years. It provides second-chance education geared to the specific needs of the individual. Youthreach also provides a safe, structured and supportive environment in which to learn. Students are paid an age related training allowance. The list of centres is in Appendix 1. Adult Education Service (AES) The Adult Education Service incorporates the literacy services, the adult guidance services,

community education programmes and English as a second language programmes. The AES

is community based with centres in Crumlin, Ballymun, North Inner City, South Inner City,

Finglas and Cabra.

It provides a wide range of part-time certified and non-certified courses. Programmes are

provided within CDETB centres and in over 60 local community settings across the city.

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Education Service to Prisons CDETB provides a comprehensive education service to the seven (prisons in Dublin ranging from basic education level to QQI/Junior Cert/Leaving Cert, ECDL, MOS and Degree Level (Open University) with a particularly strong emphasis on Literacy and Creative Arts e.g. Art, Music, Drama and Writing. Two other projects under the remit of the Education Service to Prisons are:

Pathways Centre: The Pathways Centre is an outreach initiative to facilitate the re-integration of ex-prisoners.

Drug Treatment Court: The Drug Treatment Court is a court-supervised treatment programme to help drug dependent offenders to address their addictions and offending behaviours.

Foundations Project: CDETB is working in partnership with the homeless services and other agencies to increase access to education for those who are homeless. The Foundations Project offers part-time programmes for adults and children who are using homeless services. Hours in Co-operation: the Hours in Co-operation (HiC) scheme is a scheme whereby CDETB provides teaching services to other institutions in the city. In 2012/3 a total of 118,643 hours were sanctioned under this scheme which is equivalent to 161 WT teaching posts. Workplace Education Unit: CDETB has assisted many companies, both public and private, in order to identify training needs within their organisation. CDETB has managed and delivered courses for employers such as Dublin City Council, An Post, Irish Rail, Mondeleze, Boots, Arnotts and Brennans Bakery. SkillETB: SKILLETB is a self-financing project where CDETB was successful in obtaining the contract from the Health Services Executive (HSE) to deliver the SKILL (Securing Knowledge Intra Lifelong Learning) Programme. The aim of the SKILL Programme is to educate, develop and train support staff in the health services to the optimum of their abilities in order to enhance their role in the quality of service to patients/clients. This is a programme delivered across the country in partnership with the other 15 ETBs.

Student Support: CDETB provides a range of supports to its students both directly and

indirectly.

Sports and Cultural Council (SCC): The CDETB Sports and Cultural Council (SCC) was founded in 1935 for the purpose of promoting and co-ordinating inter-school sporting and cultural events for the students of the CDETB.

Disability Support Service: The DSS supports students who are having either a temporary or ongoing difficulty in accessing their continuing education. The aim of the service is to support students and to work in partnership with colleagues, staff and external agencies who have a range of expertise that will enable a truly supportive, holistic educational service to be provided to students attending CDETB colleges.

Psychological Service: The City of Dublin Education and Training Board’s Psychological Service was founded in 1960. The service is currently staffed by its Chief Psychologist and a team of psychologists who deliver a comprehensive psychological service to the schools, colleges and centres with CDETB. The service is delivered through a combination of individual, group and systemic approaches, participation in Care Teams, staff support and supervision and in-service training.

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City of Dublin Youth Service Board (CDYSB) In accordance with the Education and Training Board Act 2013, CDETB through CDYSB administers grant aid to 125 projects in Dublin City and 80 youth projects nationally on behalf of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and to 28 interim drugs task force projects on behalf of the Drugs programme unit of the Department of Health.

Corporate Governance

CDETB has adopted a Code of Best Practice for Governance. The code adopted is consistent with the code set out by the Department of Education and Skills. The purpose of the Code is to ensure that the principles of good governance and management are applied by CDETB.

Role of Board

The Board currently has 20 members. It has a formal schedule of reserved functions. These functions (“Reserved”) are specified by legislation and include policy, planning, monitoring and the adoption of the annual accounts/report. The Board is supported by an “Executive”, which is responsible for implementation of plans, day-to-day management and functions not reserved for the Committee. An organisational structure, with clearly defined authority levels and reporting structures, is in place. Board members and designated staff, under Ethics Acts 1995 and 2001, provide annual Disclosures of Interests in respect of issues that could materially influence the performance of functions. In addition, the Board has adopted a Code of Ethics and this has been provided to all members and staff. The Board held 10 meetings during this period 2015. Minutes are maintained and adopted in support of Board meetings.

Committees

The Board has established a number of Boards of Management and Committees including Finance and Audit Committees. The Board nominates the chairpersons of these Boards of Management and Committees and detailed terms of reference are provided.

Audit Subcommittee

The Committee is composed of six members, all of whom are independent of management. The Audit Committee is responsible for monitoring the executive in the carrying out of its functions and provides assurances to the Board as to the adequacy and effectiveness of the internal control process. It receives reports from management, external and internal audit. The Board receives an update from the Audit Committee and has regard to its report in adopting a statement of internal control and approving the annual accounts.

Finance Committee

The Finance Subcommittee is composed of five members. It has responsibility for reviewing the income and expenditure of CDETB, and the financial aspects of the education and service plans.

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Internal Control and Risk Management

The Board has overall responsibility for ensuring that an effective system of internal financial control is maintained and operated. The Executive has day to day responsibility for implementing the system of internal control. The Board has taken steps to ensure an appropriate control environment by:

Clearly defining management and staff responsibilities

Establishing procedures for reporting significant control failures and ensuring corrective action

Establishing procedures for the identification and evaluation of risks which could prevent the CDETB from achieving its objectives.

Identifying and evaluating risk is a regular part of day-to-day management. CDETB has a Risk Management Policy and a Corporate Risk Register which is reviewed regularly and reported to the Audit Committee on a six monthly basis, or more frequent where necessary. The system of internal financial control operated is based on detailed administrative procedures, segregation of duties, specific authorisations and monthly review by management of reports outlining actual and budgeted results of programmes. Review of Effectiveness The Board’s ongoing monitoring and review of the effectiveness of the system of internal control is informed by:

The work of the Audit Committee

The work of the Internal Audit Unit which performs an independent review of the effectiveness of internal controls.

Discussions with CE/Management who have responsibility for the financial control framework.

Recommendations by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Year End Financial Statements

The completion of the annual Financial Statements of CDETB on a timely basis continues to

be a key priority for the City of Dublin ETB. Despite significant challenges facing the

organisation over recent years CDETB has continued to produce draft accounts for audit in

line with previous year timelines. However, the current deadline for submission, as specified

in the ETB Act 2013, has not been achievable by the organisation. The running of the

operational areas of the Finance section in a time of significant change and scarce staff

resources has been prioritised in recent years so as to ensure that all CDETB staff, trainees,

students and suppliers are paid.

Timelines for submission of CDETB Financial Statements – 2012 to 2016

Accounts / Year / Other Period

Date draft submitted to C&AG For Audit

Date certified by C&AG

2016 28TH July 2017

2015 29th July 2016 16th December 2016

July 2013 to Dec 2014(18 Months)

22nd June 2015 17th December 2015

Jan to June 2013(6 Months) 7th July 2014 28th December 2014

2012 27th May 2013 30th December 2013

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Note: Per ETB Act 2013 financial statements are required to be submitted not later than 1

April in the year immediately following the accounting period to which they relate or on such

other date as the Minister may, from time to time, specify, by an education and training

board to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit.

Significant efforts are made by the CDETB Finance Department to complete the draft

accounts for audit as early as possible in the year immediately following the accounting

period. However, the process of completion of the accounts is very manual due to the

current financial system in operation in CDETB, SUN systems, and is further complicated by

the requirement for CDETB to currently operate and integrate a separate financial system,

SAP, for the training centres, at the year end. There are also significant competing

demands on the Finance department during the first three to six months of the calendar

year including the completion of the SOLAS FET planning process and the scheduling of the

C&AG interim audit which due to the size, scale and diversity of provision of service of

CDETB can take up to a period of five to six weeks. Sanction has been received in 2017 for

an additional temporary senior staff resource and this should assist CDETB to reduce the

timeline required for the preparation of the annual Financial Statement.

Finance Department - Overview

The CDETB Finance department is responsible for planning, organising, controlling,

managing and co-ordinating the efficient operation of the finance function of CDETB.

The 2016 budget for the CDETB was approx €585 Million, an increase of 200% over the 2010

CDVEC budget of €190M. The significant budget increase over this period was due in the

main to the set-up of the new Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) unit in 2012 and the

transfer of two Dublin FAS training centres to CDETB on the 1st of January 2014. In 2014 the

CDETB SUSI unit also assumed responsibility for the payment of DES Scholarships and

Bursaries, the value of which was approx. €4m in 2016. The total value of SUSI related

receipts in 2016 was approx. €394m and the Training centres accounted for €46m of the

budget total.

In addition to the material increase in the organisation’s budget over this period, actual

responsibility for the management of the further education budget transferred to SOLAS

from the DES on the 1st of January 2014. This change in Grantor resulted in additional

reporting and budgeting requirements for the ETB sector thereby placing additional

demands on the CDETB finance team. CDETB is also currently operating two parallel

financial systems, SUN and SAP as a result of the transfer of the two training centres. CDETB

must also now ensure compliance with DPER circular 13/2014 - Management of and

accountability for grants from exchequer funds. Please note that no additional staff have

been assigned to the CDETB Head Office, Finance function as a result of this significant

increase in operational activity. However, the broadening of functions has resulted in an

increased demand for senior staff management and oversight.

Transfer of Two Training Centres and SUSI Unit– Impact on CDETB Finance department

The transfer of the two training centres and the introduction of SUSI have increased work

pressure across all sections of the CDETB Head Office Finance department particularly in

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relation to the review and oversight role required of senior staff. The impacted sections

include, but are not limited to, the Payroll, Procurement, Creditors and Banking sections.

The above service expansion and organisational change happened during the Moratorium in

the public service effective 2009 which resulted in reduced resources both financial and

personnel.

All the above has also been very successfully achieved in the challenging environment of

scarce staff resources which included:

1) The key operational positions of Head of Banking Grade VII and Head of

Procurement Grade VII being vacant during the period in question and have only

recently been filled. The long term effect of these vacancies has had a significant

impact on the operational ability of the Finance department over the period in

question.

2) Prior to the transfer of the Dublin Training centres to CDETB and Dublin and

Dunlaoghaire ETB (DDLETB) the FAS (SOLAS) Finance & Administration Manager

played an integral role in the management and control of the Dublin region financial

budgeting and control. This particular role transferred to DDLETB on the 1st of

January 2014 with no equivalent resource being allocated to CDETB. This resource is

also essential for the integration and reconciliation of the two parallel financial

systems, SUN and SAP, currently in operation in CDETB. The Finance Officer is

currently performing the Training Centre Finance manager role. A temporary

resource has recently been sanctioned by the DES.

3) The on-going non filling of posts during the Moratorium.

4) More recently the CDETB Finance section has lost experienced staff to both the

Education Shared Business Services recruitment drives and to new external

employment opportunities. Approval has been received for back-fill and temporary

replacement of these staff and the recruitment process is ongoing.

As a result of the above the senior Finance staff in APO and PO (Director OSD) positions

have had to compensate considerably for the lack of staff at key supervisory levels and

limitations of staff without the appropriate skillset and experience.

IT Systems

City of Dublin ETB operates the SUN Finance system. The Training centres have continued to

operate the SAP Financial system since their transfer to CDETB in Jan 2014. A mapping

process was carried out to integrate the SAP financial data to the SUN system on a monthly

basis. However, the reconciliation process continues to be quite manual and time

consuming. The introduction of a new Finance system for the whole of the ETB through

Shared services will eliminate this requirement.

In the interim CDETB Finance has participated on a number of Education Shared Business

Services project groups and has contributed to a number of Shared Services interim projects

as outlined below:

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Shared Services - Live Interim Projects

CDETB Finance has participated in a number of projects regarding shared services including

an E-Invoicing pilot scheme and participation in working group to implement a new learner

payments system.

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SUSI - Student Universal Support Ireland

Role and Work of SUSI

SUSI is a unit of CDETB which is designated by the Minister for Education and Skills as the single Irish national awarding authority for student grants in further and higher education.

Since 2012, SUSI has replaced 66 former local grant awarding authorities. Its role is to enable students to receive financial support for their studies in accordance with the eligibility criteria of the Student Grant Schemes prescribed annually by the Minister.

SUSI was established in challenging times, both nationally and in terms of the public service staffing moratorium, and experienced acknowledged operational difficulties in its first year.

In subsequent years however, SUSI has improved its performance and is now regarded as an example of successful public service delivery transformation.

Grant Rates and Income Thresholds

The following table illustrates the current types and rates of grant, together with the relevant household income thresholds, as prescribed for the 2017-18 academic year:

Maintenance Grant Fee Grant Limit* Income Thresholds**

Adjacent 45km or

less

Non-Adjacent

>45km

% Student Contribution OR % Fees

Number of dependent children

S.Con Fees <4 4 to 7 8+

Special Rate €2,375 €5,915 100% 100% €23,000 €23,000 €23,000

Standard Rates (Fees and

Maintenance)

100% €1,215 €3,025 100% 100% €39,875 €43,810 €47,575

75% €910 €2,270 100% 100% €40,970 €45,025 €48,890

50% €605 €1,515 100% 100% €43,380 €47,670 €51,760

25% €305 €755 100% 100% €45,790 €50,325 €54,630

Fees Only (no Maintenance)

100% - - 100% 50% €49,840 €54,765 €59,455

50% - - 50% - €54,240 €59,595 €64,700

Postgraduate Special Rate €2,375 €5,915 - €6,270 €23,000 €23,000 €23,000

Fee Contrib. - - - €2,000 €31,500 €34,615 €37,580

*Whether a Student Contribution (up to €3000) or Tuition Fees (up to €6,270) applies depends on eligibility of the student and course under the Free Fees Initiative. The Tuition Fee limit may be raised where the EU fee rate of fee exceeds €6,270. **With the exception of Special Rate grants, an increment of between €4,670 and €4,980 may be added to an income threshold in respect of each additional person attending a full-time further or higher education course.

Governance and Compliance

As a unit of CDETB, SUSI operates under the governance and regulatory framework applicable to Education and Training Boards generally. In addition, a Management Framework Agreement for the Centralised Administration of Student Grants is in place between the Department of Education and Skills and CDETB which reflects the particular operating parameters of SUSI in terms of national-scale service delivery including governance structures, funding arrangements and financial accountability, risk management and compliance, quality assurance and audit, fraud investigation, outsourcing, business continuity and performance reporting. The Framework Agreement is reviewed annually.

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Outputs

The core work of SUSI involves the processing of large numbers of grant applications from April to October each year and the payment of awarded grants from September to June. More than 105,000 grant applications were received for the 2016-17 academic year and approximately 84,000 grants were awarded representing student grant funding of €365m.

Outputs 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 (Est)

Grant Applications 69,700 92,200 103,800 108,200 105,300 103,200

Grant Awards 40,600 59,900 75,200 83,900 84,100 84,200

Resources

SUSI has administration costs of approximately €8.5m annually and an approved staffing complement of 100 FTE. Temporary additional staff are recruited annually to meet seasonal workflow requirements.

Resources 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 (Est)

Administration Costs €5.6m €11.6m €9m €8.7m €8.6m €8.3m

Approved Staff 65 FTE 91 FTE 91 FTE 100 FTE 100 FTE 100 FTE

Cost of Outputs

While the numbers of grant applications and awards have increased from 2012 to 2017, the average SUSI processing costs per application and award have declined year on year.

Cost of Outputs 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 (Est)

per Application € 115 € 117 € 89 € 81 € 78 € 78

per Grant Award € 197 € 180 € 122 € 105 € 98 € 96

Grant Expenditure

Maintenance grants are paid electronically to students’ bank accounts in nine monthly instalments throughout the academic year. Fee grants are paid directly to colleges on behalf of students. All grant payments are subject to confirmation by colleges to SUSI that students are registered/attending and progressing on their courses.

Grant Payments 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17

Maintenance Grants €77.6m €116.6m €147.5m €166.6m €167.1m

Fee Grants €71.8m €124.0m €169.3m €202.6m €198.1m

Total €149.4m €240.6m €316.8m €369.2m €365.2m

The complex nature of student grant scheme administration means that there is a risk that some students may receive grant payments for which they are not eligible, including for reasons beyond the direct control of SUSI. SUSI implements procedural and system-based controls both within and around its assessment and payment operations to mitigate this.

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Grant Overpayments 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17

Value €470k €733k €505k €921k €880k

Number of Cases 294 687 262 2005 903

Under the Student Support Act 2011, grant overpayments are liable to be repaid as debts to the exchequer. SUSI implements a grant repayment policy approach that is sensitive to students’ means and circumstances. The policy is currently under review with the Department of Education and Skills in light of recently issued DPER guidance on the management of public debt.

Performance

Under a Management Framework Agreement implemented between the Department of Education and Skills and CDETB, SUSI has met and exceeded its key performance targets for the timely processing of grant applications and for the payment of awarded grants:

Performance Metric

Target (2013-2017)

Service Levels Achieved

2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 New Target

(2017->) 2017/18

Application Processing:

% of new

applications completed

55% by 31 Oct 75% by 30 Nov 85% by 31 Dec

55% 77% 88%

56% 75% 87%

58% 76% 86%

81% 90% 97%

55% by 30 Sep 65% by 31 Oct 85% by 30 Nov 90% by 31 Dec

69% 84%

- -

% of renewal applications

completed

95% by 31 Oct (30 Nov)

94% (97%)

92% (95%)

95%

96%

-

96%

Grant Payments:

% of total anticipated

new awards paid

40% by 31 Oct 65% by 30 Nov 85% by 31 Dec

44% 71% 84%

43% 69% 85%

53% 70% 85%

77% 88% 94%

30% by 30 Sep 55% by 31 Oct 75% by 30 Nov 90% by 31 Dec

42% 73%

- -

% of total anticipated

renewal awards paid

80% by 31 Oct 95% by 30 Nov

(31 Dec)

92% 98%

86% 94%

(98%)

95% 96%

96% 98%

(100%)

90% by 31 Oct 95% by 30 Nov

95% -

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Service Delivery

SUSI is a modern, centralised government service that seeks to achieve continuous improvement in its service delivery for students and other stakeholders. The grant application process has been fully online since 2012; the eligibility assessment process is streamlined through the use of integrated ICT systems, quality assurance systems and other controls; the requirement for students to submit supporting documents has been significantly reduced through data sharing agreements with government and other bodies.

As a consequence of these changes and improvements, the average number of student interactions arising per grant application (calls, e-mails, social media and supporting documents) have reduced:

Student Interactions 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17

per Application 8 6 5 4 4

The SUSI support desk service provides advice and information for students at all stages of the grant application and payment process and SUSI implements broad-spanning stakeholder engagement structures and, through its student outreach programme, attends at many college open days and other information events nationwide.

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Appendix 1: Map of CDETB Provision across the City of Dublin

CDETB Colleges and Schools

1. Ballsbridge College of Further Education 2. Ballyfermot College of Further Education 3. Kylemore College, Ballyfermot 4. Whitehall College of Further Education 5. St. Kevin’s College, Clogher Road 6. Coláiste Dhúlaigh College of Further Education, Coolock 7. Crumlin College of Further Education 8. Inchicore College of Further Education 9. Coláiste Íde College of Further Education 10. Killester College of Further Education 11. Marino College of Further Education

12. Liberties College 13. Plunket College and Clonturk College 14. Rathmines College of Further Education 15. Pearse College of Further Education 16. Ringsend College 17. Cabra Community College 18. Larkin Community College, 19. Coláiste Dhúlaigh Post Primary, 20. Coláiste Eoin 21. Presentation College 22. Margaret Aylward Community College

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CDETB Youthreach

Y1. Ballyfermot Youthreach Y2. Ballymun Youthreach Y3. Kilmore Road Youthreach Y4. Cabra Youthreach Y5. Crumlin Youthreach

Y6. Harmonstown Youthreach Y7. North Great George’s Street Youthreach Y8. Pleasants Street Youthreach Y9. Sherrard Street Youthreach Y10. Transition Centre

CDETB Adult Education Service

AES 1. Adult Education Service Area 1, Ballymun, Coolock, Darndale, Santry, Donaghmede, Kilmore, Priorswood, Whitehall, Airfield, Beaumont, Drumcondra, Edenmore, Harmonstown, Raheny.

AES 2. Adult Education Service Area 2, Ashtown, Ballygall, Ballymun, Cabra, Drumcondra, Finglas AES 3. Adult Education Service Area 3, Arran Quay, Ballybough, Drumcondra, Inns Quay, Mountjoy,

North City, North Dock, Rotunda, Stoneybatter, Clontarf, Grace Park, Whitehall AES 4. Adult Education Service Area 4, Chapelizod, Cherry Orchard, Crumlin, Ballyfermot, Drimnagh,

Inchicore, Kilmainham, Kimmage, Terenure, Walkinstown.

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Appendix 2

City of Dublin Education and Training Board - Expenditure for Calender Years

2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 €’000s €’000s €’000s €’000s €’000s €’000s €’000s €’000s Main Scheme Pay 74,816 71,626 71,325 73,389 76,013 76,808 83,623 84,241 Non Pay 6,028 5,896 5,741 6,121 5,914 6,175 6,966 7,032 CDYSB 20,600 20,658 20,049 19,660 20,261 16,182 17,394 18,750 Further Education 37,271 37,356 36,155 37,170 39,385 41,275 36,106 36,454 Training 43,537 44,148 47,598 45,355 - - - - Associated Main Scheme 1,500 1,601 1,792 2,052 1,710 1,929 3,262 1,950 Self Financing Projects 11,000 11,344 11,882 12,681 12,605 15,668 20,293 22,065

Capital 250 772 510 1,656 130 660 3,567 8,381 Other - - 214 204 220 Total Excluding SUSI related activities

195,002 193,401 195,266 198,288 156,238 158,697 171,211 178,873

DES Bursaries & Scholarships 4,000 4,016 4,314 2,223 - - - - Grants & Scholarships 20 49 419 1,572 2,051 6,212 7,357 10,846 SUSI Allowances 380,000 381,575 375,144 299,114 245,727 19,113 - - SUSI Corporate 8,740 8,584 8,733 9,060 11,643 5,648 - - SUSI ICT Project 1,200 332 13 - - - - - Total SUSI only 393,960 394,556 388,623 311,969 259,421 30,973 7,357 10,846 Total CDETB 588,962 587,957 583,889 510,257 415,659 189,670 178,568 189,719 Note 5 Note 4 Note 3 Note 2 Note 2 Note 1 Note 1 Note 1

Note 1: Based on statutory Financial Statements with certain projects reclassified in line with current classification Note 2: Based on Management accounts as statutory Financial Statements were prepared as required by Department of Edcuation and Skills for 6 months ended 30 June 2013 and 18 months ended 31 December 2014 as opposed to on calender 12 month basis. Note 3: Figures extracted from Financial Statements Note 4: Figures extracted from draft Financial Statements Note 5: Estimated figures