Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael)
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I congratulate the Chair on her role. I am a first-time Senator from Kerry. I invite everyone down to Kerry as well while the book is open. I congratulate the Chair and wish her every success. I hope we will all work together and be united in everything we say here today.

In the programme for Government, there are many challenges and barriers we need to iron out. Hopefully, with the support of everyone here, we can come to an agreement to knock every barrier for every kid who wants access to education and be inclusive.

I want reform of the SUSI grant situation over the term while we sit on this committee and I want it to be sorted. Regarding accommodation, I come from rural north Kerry, and accessibility to further education is a big barrier. I need this committee to really work on that.

I mentioned the programme for Government, which I will work on strongly. One aspect of it is the apprenticeship pathway, which we as a nation forgot about. Six years ago, I proposed an apprenticeship roll-out within Kerry County Council and it fell on deaf ears. At this stage, we have seen the issues we missed on housing and the barriers that we set up. We could have prevented this. It is one issue that I really want to work on, as well as the agriculture business with the colleges. I hope that, working together, we will not leave any element of society unattended and will help everyone.