Eileen Flynn (Independent)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach. All of our witnesses are very welcome to the committee this afternoon. I would disagree with the comments of our witnesses that they do not see any obstacles for young people in Donegal. I live in Ardara in Donegal. In the last week, for example, and it may be somewhat off-topic, a young woman from Donegal was on placement in St. Catherine's vocational school in Killybegs. She had to think about her accommodation and the costs of her being there for a few days. She is a fifth-year student.

Some people in places such as Glenties, Killybegs and Ardara would not have those opportunities because it is two hours away from the North. It takes me three hours to get to Belfast or Dublin and it takes nearly two hours to get to Derry. When we are talking about obstacles for young people in places such as Donegal, transport is one of them. There is also the cost of education, which is another one for young people in rural communities such as in Donegal. Unfortunately, young people in Ardara do not have the same opportunities young people in Letterkenny would have or those who are close to the Border. There are issues, such as accommodation, transport and cost, which are very real for those young people of Donegal.

That is also the case for apprenticeships. Much of the time there is only so much available for young people in Donegal in terms of placements and apprenticeships because, economically, the county would be not as good as some other counties. We could have a committee meeting alone on the minimum wage for young people in rural Donegal. I know it is the same in other rural parts of Ireland. These comments are not intended to dismiss or put down the points made by our witnesses. We are not ambitious enough for young people in rural Ireland, such as in Glenties, Ardara and Killybegs. I see young people with much fewer opportunities, including some working-class young people. Sometimes, we have this idea in our heads that rural people are rich.

I will move on to my questions around the meeting in Enniskillen which Mr. Brownlee spoke about. I welcome that meeting and the changes around networking for the South West Regional College. A meeting is scheduled for March. Perhaps SOLAS could outline the proposed agenda around that meeting.

I think college connect is in four universities and I have done a lot of work with it through my work in the National Traveller Women's Forum over recent years. Is that something we could look at? It is a brilliant project to have. It is funded by the HEA. I have welcomed that because it has been a lifesaver for many young people here in the Republic. Could we do something similar that brings the opportunity of college connect to the North so we have that bridge where we can come together? That is only an idea. From listening to the opening statements, we have done some really good work North-South to try to give young people the best opportunities we can, but an awful lot more needs to be done. It is the idea of bridging the gap and people coming together. How doable would it be? I believe it would be extremely doable to bring young people together and have those opportunities for our young people. That is my input to today's committee.