Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I congratulate the Minister on his appointment. I was delighted to have him at Atlantic Technological University, ATU, in Sligo a few months ago. I wish him every success. We are very proud of ATU Sligo. It is the first university north of the Dublin-Galway line. My role was ensuring that St. Angela’s College would be included in ATU. It has been a long pathway. Some of the Minister’s officials will understand the frustrations. We are also very proud of the strides that have been made.

An area I am a little concerned about is that the Ursuline College gifted St. Angela’s College to the State on the promise that there would be teaching and nursing practice there. I am little concerned that the ATU is beginning to move everything into the campus. These things need to be teased out. While I do not wish to get in the way of what people will determine, commitments were made by the previous Minister, who subsequently became Taoiseach, namely, the current Tánaiste, Deputy Harris. While I understand circumstances change, we need to acknowledge that those commitments were made. I understand the Minister’s officials have a difficult job, but it is something we need to maybe be cognisant of. I am satisfied with the Minister’s four priorities, particularly the priorities to foster research and innovation and to expand pathways to skills, reskilling and apprenticeships that match Ireland’s evolving workforce. This is commendable because we may have lost a bit of ground over a number of years in this regard. The one thing I found when I was Minister of State was that it was really great to see all the great joy apprenticeships brought. I might not be a great academic, but I certainly believe in apprenticeships. It is nice to see people doing something we need.

I am also concerned about the lack of student accommodation. It can be seen in the bigger universities. In ATU Sligo, work is ongoing with the local authority. We need to ramp these things up. I do not know whether the various Departments have the skills to ramp these things up, however. If we can provide student accommodation of approximately 500 to 600 beds in Sligo, for example, as I am the TD for Sligo, Leitrim and south Donegal, it will take the pressure off of housing. We need a joined-up approach to how we deliver student accommodation as quickly as possible. I will be a strong voice for the ATU in Sligo, which covers anything north of the Dublin-Galway line. I wish to let the Minister know that I would only be too happy to help in anyway I can.