Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for State for taking this debate. I have also raised the matter with the Minister for Education and Skills. I have a number of points to make. The 83 PLC places were allocated within a rural remit, not an urban remit. I know that if these 83 PLC places are transferred to a city setting, many students will not be able to avail of PLC places and may not be able to go on to further education. That is something we cannot allow to happen. The role of an ETB should be inclusive, encompassing both urban and rural. ETBs do fantastic work in the city and county. I want to speak specifically about the college of further education in Cappamore. These places were allocated under a specific rural remit. Cappamore was established as, effectively, a rural element of Limerick College of Further Education in Mulgrave Street.

The Minister of State spoke about offering programmes at levels 3 and 4 on the QQI framework. The PLC courses across a range of areas that are currently on offer in Cappamore are levels 5 and 6. Many of these students have gone on to the University of Limerick and Limerick Institute of Technology. This is something we want here. There is no reason why level 3 and 4 courses cannot be offered on the same campus that offers level 5 and 6 courses. It is something that needs to be maintained. I want a commitment from the Minister of State and the Minister that they will contact the ETB in Limerick and get an update about how the review process is going and stress that the 83 PLC places are allocated under a rural remit. I want a commitment that future plans will involve retaining the PLC level 5 and 6 courses, introducing level 3 and 4 courses and enhancing those courses. There is a state-of-the-art college in Cappamore with 210 places available on a three and a half acre site. It would be seen as an integrated model with a rising tide lifting all boats. The Minister of State might confirm that these matters will be followed up.

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