Merger of Waterford VECs with Wexford

fuzzy dunlop

http://www.waterford-news.ie/news/mhojcwqloj/

It looks like Waterford and Wexford VEC's are being merged. A concerned worker in County Waterford VEC seems to think Wexford will be chosen for the HQ because of Brendan Howlin. Understandable as he has form for this. Does anybody care? If not they should as this could affect many of our schools.

Time for Paudie,John and Ciara to start earning their salaries methinks.

road_high

fuzzy dunlop wrote: »

http://www.waterford-news.ie/news/mhojcwqloj/

It looks like Waterford and Wexford VEC's are being merged. A concerned worker in County Waterford VEC seems to think Wexford will be chosen for the HQ because of Brendan Howlin. Understandable as he has form for this. Does anybody care? If not they should as this could affect many of our schools.

Time for Paudie,John and Ciara to start earning their salaries methinks.

I'd say very likely especially seen as he is Minister for Public Expenditure and this is an expenditure saving exercise plus Wexford's population is bigger.
I am in favour of these kind of savings to be honest because we are a very small country and do we really need VEC's and all other public bodies for that matter with departments like finance and HR in each and every county. I think not.

merlante

mfitzy wrote: »

I'd say very likely especially seen as he is Minister for Public Expenditure and this is an expenditure saving exercise plus Wexford's population is bigger.
I am in favour of these kind of savings to be honest because we are a very small country and do we really need VEC's and all other public bodies for that matter with departments like finance and HR in each and every county. I think not.

Wexford is also geographically larger than Waterford, and much of Co. Waterford is mountains. But the fact remains that Waterford is the largest urban area (by far) in the region and in a central location and therefore is the logical base for these kind of things. And after all, Waterford city is pretty much on the border of Waterford and Wexford. Don't think the OP was against merger per se, just the possibility of the merged VEC being located in Wexford.

dayshah

merlante wrote: »

And after all, Waterford city is pretty much on the border of Waterford and Wexford.

Yeah Waterford city is basically halfway between Dungarvan and Wexford Town.

Where is Wexford's current HQ?

Speak Now

dayshah wrote: »

Yeah Waterford city is basically halfway between Dungarvan and Wexford Town.

Where is Wexford's current HQ?

Or wexford is halfway between Waterford city and Gorey

Wexford VEC is in Wexford town.

dayshah

Jerry Seinfeld wrote: »

Or wexford is halfway between Waterford city and Gorey

Wexford VEC is in Wexford town.

It would be fairest to ask what's half-way between Gorey and Dungarvan. I think its New Ross, but I still want the thing in Waterford

fuzzy dunlop

If we want to be that pedantic with it then it should be half way between Gorey and Clashmore which is probably Waterford.Like I said Howlin has form and if this happens it will be a sign of further things to come. If Ciara Conway, Paudie Coffey or Deasy stand for it then it means we have only one Independent TD in Dail Eireann. .If it goes to Wexford then it will be parochialism plain and simple especially as the initial merger was supposed to be South Tipp and Waterford. This government boasted that they were going to be different.It's about time they started acting it.

BlaasForRafa

I have a mate in the Waterford city VEC and he said last week that nothing has been decided yet but that logically it should centralise to waterford but that Howlin being in charge might mean it goes to Wexford. He also said that Waterford city council are very open to working with the VEC regarding getting them more office space as their current mall location is quite limited regarding expansion of staff.

I hope it dosen't come down to this being a minister sending everything to his home county, I thought that with the ousting of FF that we were supposed to see the end of stroke politics hmm?

Junior

BlaasForRafa wrote: »

I have a mate in the Waterford city VEC and he said last week that nothing has been decided yet but that logically it should centralise to waterford but that Howlin being in charge might mean it goes to Wexford. He also said that Waterford city council are very open to working with the VEC regarding getting them more office space as their current mall location is quite limited regarding expansion of staff.

I hope it dosen't come down to this being a minister sending everything to his home county, I thought that with the ousting of FF that we were supposed to see the end of stroke politics hmm?

Wasn't it Howlin who wanted the new Regional Hospital to be located in Wexford some years back ?

dayshah

I didn't actually realise that in total its the merger of three VECs, Waterford City, Waterford County, and Wexford. So Waterford City is definitely the most logical choice of location for HQ. Its a bit much to make people relocate from Dungarvan to Wexford.

Here is a link from the Waterford Today.

Bards

Junior wrote: »

Wasn't it Howlin who wanted the new Regional Hospital to be located in Wexford some years back ?

no, he moved the HQ of the Ambulance Centre for the S.E from Ardkeen to Wexford under the Rainbow Government, which is why when you ring for an ambulance you get a call centre in Wexford

deisedol

Time for Paudie,John and Ciara to start earning their salaries methinks.[/QUOTE]

I agree they are all very silent on this. I'd say it will move to wexford as Howlin is a minister. expect a lot more downgrading of other services such as health.....i hear that wexford hospital will be taking some of the services from waterford regional...
Waterford needs to make our TD's accountable for ministers such as phil hogan and howlin taking services away from Waterford...I have no problem with them developing their areas bot not robbing from Waterford......which will be the norm as we have no minister now. Wexford and Kilkenny will be robbing from waterford for the duration of this government.....Waterford needs fo fight! I hope John halligan gets vocal about this as the others will stay quiet as they are under party whips.

Stan Nangle

http://www.wexfordpeople.ie/news/labour-men-deny-doing-uturn-on-vec-merger-2815824.html

"(Labour Councillor Joe Ryan)also firmly believes, and having talked to the Minister, that a headquarters for the joint body would be in County Wexford, and ' probably' in Wexford town."

wmpdd3

A bit off topic but has any of this happened yet? Is the VEC still on the Mall, I have to call down there in the next week or so.

merlante

Stan Nangle wrote: »

http://www.wexfordpeople.ie/news/labour-men-deny-doing-uturn-on-vec-merger-2815824.html

"(Labour Councillor Joe Ryan)also firmly believes, and having talked to the Minister, that a headquarters for the joint body would be in County Wexford, and ' probably' in Wexford town."

I know a lot of cynical people will be very quick to say 'of course' it'll be in Wexford, that's where the minister is from, but I'm in favour of giving this new government the benefit of the doubt -- up to a point. This article does seem to indicate that it's a done deal that Wexford will get the HQ, which if true is a disgrace.

If the government is genuinely intent in moving away from parochial politics and towards a more efficient Ireland then Waterford city is the only logical place for the HQ. People should really kick up a storm over this, because there is no place for this kind of parochial rubbish in modern Ireland when the country is collapsing under a mountain of debt.

If the south east region was a single county, like Cork, we wouldn't have any of this rubbish. To listen to that parochial savage of a councillor saying he had no problem merging with Waterford VECs, because (basically) unlike with Wicklow they feel that they would get to boss in the merger and get the HQ in Wexford.

(This is also why I don't want city and county councils to merge. Too much parochial politics in rural areas -- it's all about rule and conquest for them.)

fuzzy dunlop

Paudie Coffey is very silent on this.Before the election he had a letter in the local papers every other week highlighting some non issue to try and gain some political traction for Fine Gael.Ditto Seamus Ryan.There's all sorts of mergers being proposed and now we don't hear a f*cking peep.He needs to show some balls and if not be made realise Fine Gael don't control his political destiny we do. I want to be proven wrong but I predicted before the election that he would not be able to deliver a carton of milk for Waterford.Out of the 100 or so government TD's the three Waterford non entities are in the suppine position allowing us to get f*cked.That's what we get for electing three of the last twenty in a queue of one hundred. We didn't elect Coffey so he could have a photo op with Enda at the tall ships he needs to earn his stripes.

The only one who has had something to say is Jack Walsh (Labour) who has at least highlighted the issue somewhat. Seamus Ryan is another one who seems to be hiding under a rock.Yet before the election he was well able to write populist letters into the paper. It is nothing short of Criminal that Phil Hogan and Brendan Howlin have been able to splash out 33 million on their local hospitals when the country is in hock and services are being curtailed up and down the country including WRH.If this was happening in the West the Labour and FG TD's would be resigning the party whips en masse from the local authorities and Dail seats to show solidarity with their electorate. All we get is mealy mouthed assurances.

If you think this is not important it affects a whole swathe of training and education in such as Secondary schools,The FAS training centre and elements of WIT and Adult Education delivery. If a line is not drawn in the sand here where will we draw it? When they de-centralise parts of WRH or WIT to Wexford or Kilkenny?

merlante

To be fair to Paudie, he's on twitter and responds to questions. Just ask him.

Sully

I have always said that politicians should communicate better. Not everybody uses social media, or just Twitter/Facebook.

A simple newsletter every few months or so would be a good idea distributed to the constituency. It can be a joint one from all TDs/Cllrs/MEPs from the one party for example.

Junior

Sully wrote: »

I have always said that politicians should communicate better. Not everybody uses social media, or just Twitter/Facebook.

A simple newsletter every few months or so would be a good idea distributed to the constituency. It can be a joint one from all TDs/Cllrs/MEPs from the one party for example.

And I've just seen on twitter that it's gone to wexford.

fuzzy dunlop

Junior wrote: »

And I've just seen on twitter that it's gone to wexford.

7

Saw this too. Proof that Paudie Coffey is as useful as "Tits on a bull" and that FG and Labour continue the grand oul tradition of parocialism.

Psychedelic

What a disgrace.

From Paudie Coffey's Twitter:

V annoyed and frustrated to learn that Min for Education decides to locate VEC HQ for Waterford/Wexford Vecs in Wexford Town - contd…

Waterford City is obvious & logical location for HQ as regions Gateway City - decision can't be justified & smacks of political opportunism

jmcc

A disgrace. There's only one thing to do - vote them out at the earliest opportunity. This mistake was thinking that these cronyist gits would be any different to Fianna Fail.

Regards...jmcc

Junior

I was afraid this sort of thing would happen, Deasy is so far out of the loop he might as well be in opposition and Coffey bless his cotton socks is the newbie so he wasn't going to be very influential at all, this county and city is proper f*cked.

merlante

Psychedelic wrote: »

What a disgrace.

From Paudie Coffey's Twitter:

Well that's it, nothing has changed. Might as well be Fianna Fail in there. Waterford city is the obvious and logical place for the combined VEC. This is parochialism of the highest order, and is crippling the south east, which is deprived of a strong centre.

Bards

merlante wrote: »

Well that's it, nothing has changed. Might as well be Fianna Fail in there. Waterford city is the obvious and logical place for the combined VEC. This is parochialism of the highest order, and is crippling the south east, which is deprived of a strong centre.

Did you really expect anything else - they only way things are going to change is if we (the electorate) stop voting the same fools (FF, FG & Lab) into positions of authority

fricatus

This goes against common sense (Waterford city being multiples of the size of Wexford town) and against the National Spatial Strategy (has this just been torn up?)

Who made this decision? What were the criteria for the location of the new HQ? What locations were considered? How were they all scored in the final analysis?

Or did the department just decide "there's a Wexford man in charge of reforming public services, so the HQ will be in Wexford".

FG=FF :mad:

Exactly the same sh1te as before! Is anything ever going to change in this country? I would vote for SF next time if I didn't have reservations about their past! Who can the protest voter vote for? How can we get accountability?

Smiley Burnett

maybe now people will think twice before they go around calling for mergers of councils and vecs etc!!! This is what happens and it is not totally unexpected!! What happens when waterford county council and waterford city council merges??? will we see locks on the doors of the civic offices in Dungarvan or will city hall be closed???
but of course most people are stupid enough to think that merging local authorities means less politicians!!!
Be careful what you wish for, because just like the vec merger, you just might get it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dan133269

It will be very interesting to see if the department of education give any kind of a meaningful explanation as to why Wexford was chosen. They should give objective and balanced reasons in detail as to why they chose Wexford over Waterford. Somehow I can't see it happening though.

What will be the practical implications for Waterford of the VEC relocating? What will be the differences?

Psychedelic

Will this mean the Tech will be closed down completely, and Waterford people who want to do Tech courses would have to travel to Wexford?

Bards

I heard on the radio this morning that Wexford was chosen because they have a nice shinning new County Council Offices that have loads of space (Read over spec'd and cost a fortune) and would make a fitting HQ for the VEC

what a load of tosh:mad:

Waterford City is The Regional Capital. All HQ's of South Eastern Regional Bodies Must Be located here if the Regional Capital means anything at all

Sully

Lads its a Labour minister, not a Fine Gael minister, that did this. Remember in a coalition government not everything will go one partys way, and concessions will have to be made.

If your unhappy, go lobby Ciara Conway as your Labour TD.

fuzzy dunlop

Sully wrote: »

Lads its a Labour minister, not a Fine Gael minister, that did this. Remember in a coalition government not everything will go one partys way, and concessions will have to be made.

If your unhappy, go lobby Ciara Conway as your Labour TD.

Sully you're making excuses for your party. This is a cabinet decision therefore it's collective cabinet responsibility which means FG are responsible as well.We had enough of this "It's not me guv" from FF over the years.If Coffey can't get this overturned or at least put a major spotlight on this then he is useless.

Professey Chin

fuzzy dunlop wrote: »

Sully you're making excuses for your party. This is a cabinet decision therefore it's collective cabinet responsibility which means FG are responsible as well.We had enough of this "It's not me guv" from FF over the years.If Coffey can't get this overturned or at least put a major spotlight on this then he is useless.

Coffeys expressed disappointment on twitter. He'll see that as him doing his part now.

fuzzy dunlop

Mega Chin wrote: »

Coffeys expressed disappointment on twitter. He'll see that as him doing his part now.

Great he must feel so trendy using the tweet machine. He needs to get off twitter and start doing the job he was elected for.

Bards

Sully wrote: »

Lads its a Labour minister, not a Fine Gael minister, that did this. Remember in a coalition government not everything will go one partys way, and concessions will have to be made.

If your unhappy, go lobby Ciara Conway as your Labour TD.

FG are in Govt, FG are in Power, FG are just as responsibile for this decision as Labour. even more so considering their majority.

The very same will happen if WIT is turned into a Univeristy of the S.E. the best bits will go to Kilkenny & Wexford as that is where the "Ministers" are from

Junior

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/1005/vec_waterford.html

Comments from Waterford VEC only there, not a peek from any of our esteemed representatives.

Grindylow

I'm so confused! Does this mean the VEC that was in Dungarvan is gone to Wexford too? Like so if I'm dropping in a grant application, it's to Wexford? :(

Bards

Noel2k9 wrote: »

I'm so confused! Does this mean the VEC that was in Dungarvan is gone to Wexford too? Like so if I'm dropping in a grant application, it's to Wexford? :(

yep, that is what a merger of Waterford County, Waterford City & Wexford VEC's means for Joe Soap

fuzzy dunlop

I can't wait to see Ciara Conway explain this betrayal away. Herself and Paudie Coffey need to kick up a major **** storm about this up to threatrning to resign their respective party whips..Especially since its also made the news there is no excuse.It's an opportunity for them if only they'll see it. We were all warned that this would happen prior to the election.Howlin and Hogan instead of delivering something for the region would just pillage allocated regional resources to their own constituencies. Zero sum politics 1950'S style at it's best.

Grindylow

Bards wrote: »

yep, that is what a merger of Waterford County, Waterford City & Wexford VEC's means for Joe Soap

But it says the offices will still operate in Waterford so the forms can probably be dropped in there..

dayshah

Noel2k9 wrote: »

But it says the offices will still operate in Waterford so the forms can probably be dropped in there..

So what's the point of the merger?

Grindylow

dayshah wrote: »

So what's the point of the merger?

I presume they can't do work from the 2 offices in Waterford, just giving out and collecting forms?

Smiley Burnett

dayshah wrote: »

So what's the point of the merger?

exactly!!! the public are crying out for mergers of councils and vecs etc, yet when something like this happens they complain and kick up a stink??!!

make your minds up folks!! You either want mergers etc, or you dont!!

dayshah

Smiley Burnett wrote: »

exactly!!! the public are crying out for mergers of councils and vecs etc, yet when something like this happens they complain and kick up a stink??!!

make your minds up folks!! You either want mergers etc, or you dont!!

Mergers make sense to reduce duplication. Anyway, Waterford is the logical location, as its halfway between the other two regional authority HQs.

fuzzy dunlop

Smiley Burnett wrote: »

exactly!!! the public are crying out for mergers of councils and vecs etc, yet when something like this happens they complain and kick up a stink??!!

make your minds up folks!! You either want mergers etc, or you dont!!

We're not kicking up a stink because of the merger. We're kicking up a stink because the government have done a FF by allowing a minister to favour his own constituency over the suitable location which is Waterford. I and others warned this would happen as it did the last time the rainbow government was in and that people like Paudie Coffey would be powerless to do anything about it because of their inexperience.Yet all the FG hacks said otherwise and offered platitudes and "assurances" that Paudie would be in a good position to influence things.Well we all know now that was Bull****. Fool me once......

fricatus

The Irish Times wrote:

FG TDs criticise Quinn for VEC move

THE TWO Fine Gael TDs in Waterford have harshly criticised the decision of Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn to locate the new headquarters for the amalgamated Waterford-Wexford VEC in Co Wexford.

John Deasy and Paudie Coffey have both said the actions of Mr Quinn were motivated by the fact that his Labour colleague and Cabinet colleague, Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin, is based in Wexford rather than on the criteria.

The assertions were rejected by a spokeswoman for the Department of Education who said that the decision was based solely on the criteria that were laid down for the mergers of VECs. A large number of factors had to be taken into account, she said, such as distance employees had to travel to the new headquarters, the availability of accommodation, existing lease arrangements, and the number of schools and educational facilities in the area. She also rejected the contention that the decisions were political.

Mr Deasy said locating the headquarters in Wexford rather than Waterford was a “a purely political decision” designed to facilitate Mr Howlin. Mr Coffey described the decision as “bizarre” and said it was influenced by the ministerial “hometown” factor.

However, the spokeswoman said the final choice between Dungarvan and Wexford town as a headquarters was a “finely balanced one”.

She said Mr Quinn had taken into account additional factors such as a a larger budget of €34.3 million for Wexford VEC as opposed to €32.6 million for the two VECs in Waterford City and County.

So wait now... Waterford city wasn't even considered as the location for the merged entity?

Why the fcuk not? Excuse my language!

Max Powers

I e-mailed all our local TDs, Ruairi Quinn, Howlin and the Taoiseach.

Paudie Coffey communications to various on the issue:
Coffey critical of decision to locate new VEC HQ in Wexford

Waterford City centrally located for people from north Wexford to west Waterford

Fine Gael Waterford Deputy, Paudie Coffey TD, has criticised the decision to locate the new amalgamated Waterford and Wexford VEC head office in Wexford, saying Waterford city is the largest urban centre in the South East and is designated as the gateway city for the region.

Deputy Coffey has previously outlined his support for reform, for efficiencies in the VEC sector and for the centralisation of the VEC office but says the fact that Waterford, the regional Gateway City, has not been chosen as the location for the new headquarters is bizarre.

“Minister Quinn has indicated that a number of factors were taken into account in designating the headquarter locations where VECs are being merged. I would like the Minister to make public what these factors were. It is imperative that any headquarters should be centrally located to service the region in as efficient a manner as possible. Waterford City was designated as the Gateway City for the South East region in the National Spatial Strategy and therefore should be prioritised by Government as the location for any regional headquarters in cases such as this.

“I believe this is a ‘hometown’ decision, influenced, in part, by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, who is from Wexford town. This decision was made despite representations made by me to the Minister for Education and Skills as far back as 7th of July 2011 when I asked him to consider the merits of Waterford City as headquarters.

“I have once again written to Minister Quinn to ask him to state what the criteria and factors were for him to designate Wexford as the VEC headquarters. As a former member of Waterford County VEC, I recognise the need for efficiencies in this area and consider Waterford City a practical and sensible option for all involved. The merging of Limerick City and County and Clare saw the VEC being located in Limerick City. The merging of Cork City and County Cork VEC saw Cork City as the chosen location. What, then, is the reason for placing our VEC out on the periphery instead of in the heart of the area it is set to cover? What’s more, the Waterford City Manager has informed me that any infrastructure for the location of a VEC HQ in Waterford city would be made available.

“I am less than satisfied with this decision and I am urging Minister Quinn to reconsider and ensure that Waterford City is designated as the headquarters for the new VEC.”
Ends
Note to Editors: Please see attached letters to Minister Ruairi Quinn TD on the 7th July 2011 and 4th Oct 2011

Contact: Deborah Sweeney
0868586878

Minister Ruairí Quinn TD
Minister for Education and Skills
Department of Education and Skills
Malborough St
Dublin 1

04th October 2011

Dear Minister Quinn,

I am writing to you in relation to the proposed amalgamated VEC headquarters for Wexford and Waterford.

I wrote to you on this matter on the 7th of July 2011 (please see letter attached) outlining the reasons I felt that it was important that the Headquarters be located in Waterford City.

In your press statement, you state that there were factors involved in deciding the new location, I would appreciate it if you could outline to me what were the qualifying criteria and factors involved and how you and your department arrived at decision to designate Wexford town to get the Headquarters for the amalgamated VEC.

This make little sense in my mind, as a person in West Waterford, that may have to travel to the Headquarters would now have to make a 254km round trip which would mean a 3.5 hour round trip.

I must protest in the strongest possible terms in relation to this decision, I would ask you to review this decision as a matter of urgency.

I thank you for your attention in this matter and I look forward to hearing from you in due course.

Yours sincerely,
______________
Paudie Coffey TD



Minister Ruairí Quinn TD
Minister for Education and Skills
Department of Education and Skills
Marlborough St
Dublin 1

07th July 2011

Dear Minister Quinn,

Following your recent announcement regarding the amalgamation of the VECs throughout the Country, but more specifically Waterford City and County VECs and Wexford VEC; I wish to outline to you my views on the matter.

As a former member of Waterford County VEC, I can vouch for the good work at various levels in education that the staff of County Waterford VEC has been responsible for. However in the current economic climate I can appreciate the need for new efficiencies and economies of scale, therefore I understand totally why you have made the recent decisions on these amalgamations. I wish to make the point that Waterford City is the gateway city in the National Spatial Strategy for the South East Region.

Therefore I believe that it is the most appropriate place for the new headquarters of the new amalgamated VEC to be located; geographically it is located centrally and is within reach of both North Wexford and West Waterford which from the medium to long term administrative and travel costs is logical and makes most sense from a cost savings point of view. For Example Tallow in West Waterford is 75.6 Kilometres from Waterford City and Gorey in North Wexford is 83.2 Kilometres away.

I would appreciate if you could take these views into account when you establish the new amalgamated VEC structure. I thank you for your attention in this matter and I look forward to hearing from you in due course.

Yours sincerely,
______________
Paudie Coffey TD

Junior

fricatus wrote: »

So wait now... Waterford city wasn't even considered as the location for the merged entity?

Why the fcuk not? Excuse my language!

Probably because if it was compared against Wexford Town it would make the most sense to locate it there ?

O Riain

good to see paudie making a bit of noise about this, has it been brought up in the dail?

fuzzy dunlop

O Riain wrote: »

good to see paudie making a bit of noise about this, has it been brought up in the dail?

To be fair this is the bare minimum.There should be no compromise here.A line needs to be drawn in the sand. We've lost the best part of a thousand jobs in the last two weeks while Brendan Howlin has done this as well as lavishing millions on his local hospital.Meanwhile strategic projects in WRH have been dropped.This needs to be reversed and message needs to be sent by all three Waterford Government party TD's that thay are not going to tolerate as much as a Dáil envelope being favoured for a Ministers constituency just because they have a minister.Deasy is the only one so far coming close to this. We were promised change not this.

fuzzy dunlop

Junior wrote: »

Probably because if it was compared against Wexford Town it would make the most sense to locate it there ?

Nailed on the head. Typical forked tounge language from Quinn here.