Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)

All Members today have noted that further and higher education is the future. The events last week in Ballivor, County Meath, were a prime example, as were the events in Donegal and many other places, of the changes afoot. Nearly every week, one hears announcements of job losses and of companies moving away from Ireland. Hence, we must begin to increase the numbers of postgraduates as well as undergraduates who are equipped for the needs of the modern jobs market. Otherwise, our position on the world stage in terms of employment providers will quickly fall.

Increased investment in further and higher education is the key in this respect. While education got us to our current position in the first place, we must increase our efforts. People do not realise how high the bar has been raised and we must set our aims high and pump money into the sector.

Simultaneously, we must work with those manufacturing companies who have decided to leave, to try to establish whether there is any way to retain some employment here, even in reduced numbers or mainly in the research and development area. An opportunity exists to work with them and I question the degree to which discussions have been held with many such companies to try to keep them in this country. Do we offer them a plan or a vision? If we put the correct incentives in place, some companies might be able to retain some jobs here, which could perhaps be built upon subsequently.

Our further and higher education facilities remain incorrectly funded and are often underfunded. The Minister informed the House of the millions of euro provided to this sector. However, Members know that these millions are insufficient and are not spent in an inclusive fashion. Many lecturers and college administrators have approached Members to tell them that they lack the required funds to run their establishments. They are unable to upgrade them or improve their facilities and they cannot offer their desired courses because they do not have sufficient funds. While funding has increased, it is still insufficient to continue into the future.

Our institutions must develop an open door policy to allow entry to further education to all who have the ability and not simply those who have the money. Although there is a problem with those who cannot afford to attend college at third or fourth level, we are informed that there is free education. Similarly, while primary education is supposedly free, it still costs parents €1,000 or €2,000 every year to send their children to school. The same situation applies as far as third level colleges are concerned. It still costs €2,000 or €3,000 between books, registration fees, enrolment fees of all kinds and so on. The costs continually mount. Hence, for many it is not free and many cannot afford to attend.

Those who could not afford to attend previously must be allowed to become our future business leaders, school principals and inventors of the next generation of computer software and hardware. Funding for these future leaders must come from the State's tax take, as every cent spent on education will be returned threefold or fourfold in the form of job creation and sustainable industry that will aid the economy. One's address should not decide what course one takes in college or where one ends up subsequently.

I agree with the Minister's earlier statement to the effect that fourth level opportunities must be enhanced, expanded and developed. We compete for investment on a global basis where the knowledge economy is critically important. As a result, a global education is required. Ireland competes in a high-wage market and to continue to demand high wages, we must be the best in our field. This can only be done through improving our current workforce's skills and by providing excellence in education to new entrants. Our educational offerings must be even better than previously if, as a nation, we are to succeed in supporting our position within the global economy.

In IDA Ireland's annual report for 2003, Seán Dorgan noted that the investment we must now win will seek more advanced skills and will conduct high value work, often connected to research activity. More often than not, they seek a strong urban base with educational and business services that can support sophisticated or complex activities with an international focus. It would be worth reviewing what actions were put in place since 2003 and whether we have delivered. It appears that despite the references to millions of euro, we have not really reacted to the advice given.

In the past ten years, there has been a major shift in the population patterns along the east coast. Unfortunately, further and higher level education provisions have not moved with the people. A greater investment is required in both our universities and institutes of technology to expand further into the regions, be it through new, dedicated sites, PLC centres or greater use of outreach centres. The funding is inadequate for this to take place. For example, County Meath has a population of more than 160,000 which is rapidly heading towards 200,000. Despite this, it does not have a dedicated higher level facility. In the week of the NEC closure in Ballivor, there has never been a more opportune time to provide the higher education facilities needed to put Meath on the inward investment map.

Meath County Council tried to take the lead in this respect. It developed a higher education strategy some years ago to try to promote Meath and to enhance the county's chances of acquiring a third level college. However, it is impossible to secure even minor Government funding to push the report or use the study to develop educational facilities. The county council was not overly demanding in its plan and it realised that one cannot click one's fingers and secure a third level college. While this happened fortuitously in Blanchardstown a few years ago, it does not always happen so easily. Hence, the council's plan was to develop courses and a Meath brand of education and to build it up until eventually there would be sufficient activity in the county to demonstrate the need for a third level college on a greenfield site. Sadly, this has not been backed fully and even resources to pursue this option at a lower level are not forthcoming.

The Minister's speech leaned heavily towards the education providers. There was little or no emphasis on one key part of education, namely, the student. A review of access to education requirements must be carried out nationally to establish what courses are available and where. While it might be an adventure for someone setting out from second to third level at the age of 18, what is available for the more mature person whose life is settled? Such people might be returning to education to pursue a new career, may be entering third level education for the first time or may be completing a masters course to advance in their careers.

I will provide two examples. One is a person from County Meath who is married with two children. For the past two years, he has travelled once a week to Belfast to attend university. While he would love the opportunity to stay with his family overnight, effectively he has no choice and must spend two days a week away from them while travelling to and from Belfast. He should have the opportunity to learn closer to home. While we do not provide enough courses close to people's homes, we continually tell them that they must reskill or re-educate themselves and the course choices are not available.

The second example is a person from Wexford who is married with three children. She travels to UCD every day to study for a higher diploma. She leaves home at 5.30 a.m. and returns at 9 p.m. She makes this major sacrifice to further her education and to join the workforce. Surely this lady deserves to receive this education in her native county. It cannot be too hard to match the lecturers and so on with the students' points of origin. Why are some courses only provided in the cities? We must open up in this regard and give the people of rural Ireland, those who do not live in the urban centres, a chance to attend such courses conveniently and not at great cost in terms of both quality of life and finance.

Another aspect of further and higher education which affects students is the ability to afford four years of education. Grants are not moving with the times. With the rising cost of accommodation and living, students are under pressure. Maintenance grant rates for higher education are outdated and insufficient for today's needs. The full grant of €3,020 is not even enough to cover accommodation costs, let alone the cost of living. The Government must wake up and back students.

Many students are offered placements. I would encourage many more courses to use placements, for example, in the summertime. As the burden of finding placements can be awkward, the Government needs to make them more accessible. During a placement, a student might need help with transport and accommodation costs, especially if he or she must move down the country. The Government needs to look at this issue and see whether there is any way it can help. I would encourage businesses to play a greater role in that regard.

Evening courses and courses provided by private colleges offer other choices but the expense involved may prove difficult for students. Numerous individuals who cannot obtain a grant to attend the course of their choice have come to me for help. The course fee could be €2,000 or €3,000 and it could be a course that would give them their chance in life, yet there is a limited number of places to which one can go for help or a grant if one does not fall within the main categories of education. It can, therefore, be difficult for a person to further his or her education.

On administration and the qualification critieria for grants, it is crazy that one must be over 23 years before being assessed on one's own income. Last year I dealt with the case of a young lady aged 21 years with two children of her own who was assessed on her parents' income. She missed out on getting a grant to go to college because their income was over the threshold. There is something wrong if we cannot change the system to match what is happening in today's world and give people a real chance to further their education.

The points system is out of date when it comes to providing courses. There are people missing out on courses because of it. The number of points is set according to the level of demand for a course, not on the level of intelligence or academic ability needed for it. That is a great shame. For example, there is a 50% drop-out rate in PE courses because the wrong people are taking them. They see the course on the CAO form as a good one requiring high points but when they get there, they realise it is not the one for them. However, they have taken the place of somebody else. It is a missed opportunity. This is a disgrace. Any missed opportunity is a loss to the country and the economy.

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