Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I link in closely with these colleges and universities, as they are in my area. They are already striving ahead in terms of looking at how to expand and build the expertise and staffing required. They are planning to meet what they say is a need. There is a large gap for graduates. How will the Government support that development across the country?

We have spoken about the need for further education and an apprenticeship centre in Roscommon town. How to deliver access to students in rural areas is one of the priorities we are considering. Taster courses in, for example, veterinary and equine studies would bring people on to university, but people need to be able to access those locally, by which I mean within 20 miles or 30 miles. I cannot imagine asking anyone coming out of a school in Dublin city centre, Meath or many other areas to travel 20 miles or 30 miles to attend a course in an apprenticeship centre. I am not saying that there is a need everywhere, but there are gaps in the types of apprenticeship course being offered. We can identify those gaps, particularly in further education and in those feeder colleges that offer taster courses that lead to students doing healthcare assistant courses or moving from pre-nursing to nursing. The same applies in the case of veterinary courses. As the saying goes, if you cannot see it, you cannot be it. This is one of my priorities for Roscommon town. The Department has examined what properties are available for consideration by it and SOLAS. Projects are moving along, driven by the Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board, GRETB, but we would like to see the centre being progressed so as to improve the offering for young people and career changers of all ages in Roscommon.