AONTAS

Lobbying Organisation AONTAS

Date published 17 Sep, 2018

Relevant Matter Public policy or programme

Public Policy Area Education and Training

Period 1 May, 2018 to 31 Aug, 2018

Specific Details On behalf of the AONTAS Community Education Network (CEN) the focus of this letter writing campaign regards QQI fees for reengagement and program validation, and their impact on community education providers and learners who participate in community education courses across Ireland

Intended results QQI fee waiver for reengagement and program validation fees for members of the AONTAS Community Education Network

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Benjamin Hendriksen

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? Yes

What is the directive you gave to the grassroots campaigners? AONTAS provided draft letters to members of the Community Education Network in order to send to the Minister of Education and Skills, and the local TDs and Senators of members from across the country. The draft letters were tools for members to effectively and efficiently communicate with the Minister and their TDs regarding an issue on which AONTAS has been lobbying for more than 5 years and which affects the financial health of community education providers trying to reach the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach people in our country.

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Email (31-50)

As part of this email campaign, 44 AONTAS CEN members were contacted by AONTAS requesting that they adapt the draft letters provided by AONTAS in order to send to the Minister of Education and Skills and the local TDs and Senators of the members. These draft letters were written as part of an ongoing 5 years campaign to gain a fee waiver for these providers of community education. I note that while the only DPO noted is Richard Bruton, this is only because the additional TDs and Senators range from around the country and were contacted individually by the respective AONTAS members.

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Richard Bruton Minister (Department of Education and Skills)