Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This legislation will create a new Department with responsibility for further and higher education, research, innovation and science. From a rural perspective, the support it would provide is vital in assisting not only the promotion of study in sustainable agriculture but the transition of rural students into highly populated university campuses and further research academies. The social and cultural experience of rural and ethnic minority students heading into third education is only one area in which I hope this new Department will take the lead.

We should note that with the higher education courses in agriculture available, in 2019 over one in two students in highly rural or remote areas applied for the SUSI grant. Over 12,000 students sought counselling in 2019, a 50% increase since 2010. I look forward to the publication of the higher and further education roadmap. It is about time we had a Department solely dedicated to governing the future of our higher level education system. All students need to feel safe and secure during these unusual times.

Why are students from agricultural colleges currently excluded from the €15 million Covid-19 education fund? Was this an oversight and does the Minister plan to include them in the fund? It was established to enable students to purchase laptops and tablets and obtain Internet connectivity fit for remote learning. The 6,000 students attending Teagasc colleges in Pallaskenry, Gurteen and Mountbellew have the same technology needs as students in universities and institutes of technology. Broadband in some rural areas is insufficient for remote learning, and that is why the national broadband plan must be expedited.

I have often said we must incentivise the farming sector. Looking at what has been published, it seems the farming sector, and students in that sector, are again being excluded. I hope this is an oversight that will be corrected. All students in every learning sphere should be welcomed and incorporated in all types of learning. The Internet services are not available in rural Ireland, including rural areas of Limerick. This must be addressed immediately. These colleges will not have the ability, if social distancing is implemented, to accommodate all these students, so rural and remote learning must be used. We must address this.

The Minister of State is from Limerick. I am delighted that we have two Ministers of State from the area. It is about time we all worked collectively to get what we need for Limerick. We must get the infrastructure, including rural broadband, in place by working collectively on behalf of Limerick. That collective response has been needed for many years. The Ministers of State are now in a position to make things happen. I look forward to working with them.

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