Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I apologise to the Minister. I had to leave to go to another meeting, so I did not hear all of his contribution. It is great to have him at the committee so early in its life. We look forward to working with him and his Department on a range of issues.

I am sure all the other issues were covered, but one issue I will raise is that of further education. I spoke to the Minister previously, and we had an exchange during oral questions as well, regarding the welcome emphasis on further education since 2020, especially since the establishment of the Department and substantial capital funding being provided towards the provision of further education colleges. As the Minister knows, I have a particular interest in Cavan Institute. I was glad he has confirmed that project is progressing through to the next stage and to tendering. Hopefully, that will not be delayed.

An area I have often spoken about in the House and elsewhere is that of the opportunities for further and more intense collaboration on an all-Ireland basis with regard to the further education sector. I have become familiar over the years with the college of further education at Enniskillen.

Indeed, many years ago Northern Ireland had a much more advanced further education sector than we had. Today our sector is more advanced than theirs. That is a great credit to the individual colleges, the Department and individual educational and training boards. There are opportunities for more collaboration because every institute cannot provide all the courses. In some instances we should have a sharing of courses and some way of easing the admissions process for students from here going to college in Northern Ireland and students from Northern Ireland going to the colleges here. I have seen the success of colleges. Understandably, I am particularly familiar with Cavan Institute and Monaghan Institute. They have been hugely beneficial for students who may not have had the desired number of points to go straight into third level. They have been a great pathway to higher education. They have also been great outlets for giving people the necessary skills in particular disciplines. People can go to complete their education in these colleges and go on to very successful careers. I am very glad to see necessary and essential capital funding going into those colleges, such as Cavan, which has a need for additional accommodation because of the growth in enrolment over the years. I look forward to that particular project being progressed and all-Ireland further education developments being brought to a new level. I wish the Minister well in his work. I am sure we will have plenty of engagement with him at this committee.