Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 1 March 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills

Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed)

Photo of Rose Conway-WalshRose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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It would be great if Dr. Trant could supply that. Private colleges that provide apprenticeship training is a recent development. Where does Dr. Trant see that in the context of the future decentralisation of the craft model for apprenticeships? Will she speak to the role of private colleges in that?

I will also ask Mr. Conlon about accommodation. Probably the biggest barrier to third-level education for students outside the large towns is affording accommodation. I was in Mayo yesterday and met members of the county council. There are 24 places for rent in Mayo. I am very concerned that we have these technological universities we have waited so long for, which have enormous potential, but we will not have accommodation. We speak about the need for a framework for independent borrowing for the technological sector absolutely without question. However, when we look at the challenges facing the universities, which have the borrowing power, we clearly see that it is not a silver bullet for delivering affordable accommodation. What do we need to do in order for that to be able to work? We need to address in advance the panacea of technological universities having the ability to borrow.