Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies and I acknowledge the point. The only hope we have of making progress on this vital issue is to pull together. I very much appreciate that is the way in which this committee is doing its work. I have been following its work and I am delighted on a personal and professional level to see the existence of this committee.

This all has to come back to joined-up thinking, which brings me to Deputy Tully's point. The short answer is “Yes”. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is right to highlight that one of the key issues is planning and, from my Department's perspective, it is about engaging with students at a much earlier stage, rather than having this last-minute cliff edge, worry or anxiety. As I have said before, all too often the conversation the State has is reduced to one just about the health service at that stage of a student's life. The health service is extremely important, as is this committee, in the context of looking at health and all of the challenges that need to be addressed. Looking at the education piece is also key. They are complementary. I know of examples in my own constituency and community of people engaging with the health services and the education system. The question has to be “What do you want to do after school?”, and then it is about how we kick in to make it happen.

I hope the committee has got impression, as I am sure it did from engaging with my colleagues in SOLAS earlier, that the benefit of further education is its depth and breadth across the country. There is further education in every community in Ireland. They are up for it and there is a can-do attitude in that sector, as the committee knows. It is to signpost what is already there and, where there is a gap, to try to develop the service. To involve the younger person and their family at a much earlier stage is key to that. My Department, at official level, sits on those groups and is actively working, and we are ready to do whatever is required.