James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Ó Súilleabháin agus Loch Garman abú freisin. I thank the Deputy for that. It was good to talk to him in Riverchapel National School – my old national school – in Wexford last week. It was a good event.

I am a big supporter of the Wexford SETU campus and the vision that has been articulated there by a number of parties in terms of the aspirations of the local authority and others to develop that site. I understand there are plans for a primary and secondary school provision on it and playing fields - I think a soccer club is intended to move there. There is an affordable housing element to it. However, I do not control all the levers. I have some degree of influence over the educational part of it, but it is a wider site. I was pleased to see that the CPO challenge had fallen away and the CPO can now progress. As I said on the radio last week, I hope and anticipate it is full steam ahead by the local authority to bring that CPO to fruition. There will not be any difficulty in funding in terms of the CPO and certainly in terms of my Department’s piece of it. I cannot speak for what others might wish to do or progress but I do not envisage any difficulties that way. I might have sounded realistic. I did not intend caution but just realism. It will not be an overnight development, no more than any of them. I am aware of and I join in the broad relief and celebration of the fact the CPO is now cleared to proceed. Funding will not be an issue in terms of the higher educational parts of it. However, we still have a bit of a way to go because we have to get the site, we have to put a plan together for the site and we need to engage with SETU. I am meeting SETU representatives today, and this is on the agenda, among other things. It is not my first meeting with them; I have met them a number of times. I am very committed to making sure this proceeds but we still have a bit of a way to go. A proposal has to be put together that has to encompass the local education needs; it needs to be suitable and adding value to the area; it has to meet the Higher Education Authority’s framework and so on; and it then has to progress into a funding call. Just to be honest about it, there are a couple steps to go and I do not see them happening overnight. However, I will certainly put my shoulder to the wheel to support them and get them progressed.

More generally about Wexford, in particular Wexford town and surrounding areas, my understanding is the level of educational attainment is perhaps a little bit lower in terms of third-level qualifications and graduate rates than other parts of the country. Arguably, that could be because a lack of a third-level option there. Traditionally, it was Waterford and Carlow. For example, in Gorey, where the Deputy and I come from, you can commute. It is a bit of a distance but you can do it. South Wexford could have been vulnerable in that sense. I think the numbers stack up and the metrics are very strong. I hope that in my time as Minister it is possible to develop that campus and see that reach its potential. However, there is an obligation and dependency on all stakeholders, including SETU, to come to the table with a good, solid proposal that will match the educational needs of that sector and provide a vibrant third-level campus there, and put a proposal together that stacks up and will meet HEA approval and my own Department in due course. As far as I am concerned, it is full steam ahead, but I inject that note of reality into it that there are a number of steps to the process.

The Deputy spoke about oideachas as Gaeilge. In Galway, we have the acadamh up and running, which is doing good work around the provision of Irish-medium higher education, and we are looking at that. The Department of culture and sport is engaged in that also. Funding is coming in for that. It is something I would like to progress and see more of. It will be priority for me. It is important that we provide educational opportunities through the Irish language.

Regarding apprenticeships, the Deputy mentioned bus drivers. In a prior role, I had the privilege of serving as a Minister of State in the Department of Transport. I met many fantastic apprentice mechanics, including for large heavy-duty vehicles, in particular, buses. I visited a number of bus depots - Dublin Bus on the northside in Broadstone, Go-Ahead and a number of the different sites and different providers. There are a number of wonderful young apprentices, male and female, getting togged out and stuck in. They keep the wheels moving, literally. It is great to see it. We have other new apprenticeships on the way in the social work field, social care, planning and occupational therapy, as well as in things like cybersecurity, AI and digital marketing. The number of apprenticeships is far broader and wider than any of us might have ever imagined. Far from being the poor relation, it is at the stage now where it is nearly getting the edge as an option.