Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I roundly reject what the Deputy is saying. The action plan is peppered with actions for higher and further education such as improving the quality of learning and teaching and investing in the sector. We delivered that in the budget. We have looked at the whole area of rolling out the Grangegorman project. We have looked at it right through every area we have identified: quality of teaching, investment in resources and improvement right across the system. We have a systems performance process in respect of higher and further education, which will be published shortly. It will review the last period and look to the future.

I agree with the Deputy that our ambitions as a country are tied up with our investment in higher and further education. That is why we have committed that by April we will have an investment plan that looks to both employers and the State to roll it out in the medium term. We share responsibilities as part of the Oireachtas for getting a long-term funding model. We face a situation where there will be a projected 30% increase in higher education enrolment. We have committed to rolling out apprenticeships, which are a very important complement to our higher education focus. It is one of the strengths of our institutes of technology that they combine traditional apprenticeships with other more applied research and higher level skills. We want to protect that in the technological university project that is under way. I reject the idea that this is not central to what we are doing. It is central to it. We will be acting urgently in this area.

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