Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Tá Gaeilge an Uasal Ó hÉanaigh go hálainn. Tá mo Ghaeilge féin uafásach agus mar sin beidh mé ag caint as Béarla.

I grew up in Galway and accompanied my father who fitted gas tanks to heat the Údarás advanced factories. The work of Údarás na Gaeltachta has been exceptional and they must be commended for that work and tor the commitment particularly to Gaeltacht areas in Ireland.

I am bothered by the skills shortage in the west. One knows when one leaves the road in Mullingar or when one gets the motorway to Galway but if one heads towards Tuam, one will know one is in rural Ireland. I drove right through it in 2016 to explore the area. One can see the villages and the towns where there are people who are committed to long-term sustainable development and one can see the towns that are dying on their feet.

I am looking at how we are tending to pull skills into an area. I single out Michael Hannon, as the registrar in GMIT for the development of Letterfrack industrial school. I contrast that with the former catering school up in Killybegs, which has been transferred to Letterkenny. When one pulls out an organisations, one pulls out the economic funding that goes into the area.

The original ETB legislation provided for the type of microfinance that we are talking about for start-ups. However, as the legislation went through the system, the microfinance element was lost, which is a pity.

Do the witnesses see a role for ETBs in developing skills-based courses which are bespoke for the area in which they are in? Will they provide employment for the area? As an example one could have pottery in one area, sculpture, or something else in another, do the witnesses see a benefit in that?

I am bothered by the provision of terrestrial-based broadband. Most advanced countries and countries that are advancing are moving from terrestrial to Wi-Fi systems. I am interested in views on that.

I compliment the Department, which has done an excellent job.

My background is the Teachers' Union of Ireland, TUI. When we started to develop technological universities, I was deeply concerned that we were throwing out the child with the bath water. Regional technical colleges were originally put in place with a mandate to develop bespoke programmes to develop industry in their local area. Do the witnesses have the same concerns that have as we move forward with the new higher technological universities? Are we leaving a gap?