John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted both Ministers are here for this debate. I welcome the interaction in terms of questions and so on and the commitments that the Ministers will come back on the other questions that may be unanswered.

The Minister has a new Department and there are two Ministers. There is an opportunity with Covid-19 to explore all the possibilities to perhaps open up third level education to those who were locked of it up to now. Much will depend on how the Minister approaches this and how it is funded. I accept in good faith the commitments given by the Minister but I ask her to consider the last debate we had in the House and this debate. For example, the Minister said children were happy going to school, that the schools have reopened and that children went to school with a smile. I can point the Minister to children who could not go to school. As a result of a problem in the Department in funding appropriate transport to an autism spectrum disorder unit in St. Colman's national school in Clara in Kilkenny, these children are still not back to school.

The three families concerned are asking why the Department is fighting over nickels and dimes when it could have the contract in place, the school serviced and the children who need an education back in school as soon as possible. These are the small things that make a difference.

The Minister mentioned the capital programme of €25 million. While this programme is essential, so too is the support for students who want to go through third level and go on further, do a Master's degree or go back to education. It is the cost of education that is preventing them from accessing the full range of courses that might be open to them or in which they might be interested. As a result, they are not fulfilling their dreams and their own wishes to get on. Perhaps there is a skill set within those individuals that would be enhanced by virtue of the fact that they have a passion about what they want to do. That possibility must be opened up for them. Therefore, all third level institutions should have been given access to the Covid funding and the funding for laptops and there should have been no ambiguity about it. The Minister needs to look at where that funding did not go and to ask why some third level institutions were not deemed eligible for funding.

The Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, both mentioned safety and welfare at work in their contributions. They spoke about safety for the students, the teachers and lecturers and those that would attend college. It is interesting to note that there are those within the system who lectured, who were sexually harassed and bullied to the point of making a complaint and who have become victims of the system. These may be legacy issues in some of the colleges but they need to be addressed because we cannot carry on with the same culture or the same set of rules in a world that is changing by the day for all of us. We need to release those that are caught in that system of complaint or protected disclosure and let them realise their full potential. We must put something in place that can mediate a satisfactory outcome. We cannot talk about sexual harassment, bullying and intimidation and link it to Covid-19 because the picture is much bigger than that. It is an issue that has been overlooked for years and it needs to be addressed now. Now that the Minister is presiding over a separate Department, he must bring about a resolution to that issue.

The Minister also mentioned accountability and oversight. Mr. Boland attended hearings of the Committee of Public Accounts. He has some history in relation to Waterford Institute of Technology but I hope that baggage from the past will not interfere with the valuable work he must now do in terms of Carlow and Waterford. It is essential that the Minister keeps a political handle on the developments at both colleges to ensure that Carlow and Waterford can play a central role in education in this country and in the south east in particular and to bring forward the campus that will be necessary in Kilkenny for the future of the technological university and how it will perform. It is essential that we get it in place for 1 January 2022. Accountability and oversight is also necessary in terms of the legacy issues in those colleges. In both Carlow and Waterford, human resources issues need to be addressed. The financial issues need to be addressed, with one college in the red and the other not. Until we address these issues in a realistic way and provide adequate funding to do so, we will not overcome the problems associated with the amalgamation and the establishment of a technological university. We need to face up to the issues, to be honest and truthful about them. In recognising the truth, we will arrive at solutions to the problems. Then we can all move on for the betterment of the people that we represent, in the context of university status and the opening up of universities to those who have not had the opportunity to attend in the past.

School transport was also mentioned, as was online delivery of courses. At primary and secondary level we have a transport system that is not transparent, does not deliver and is not giving value for money. That system needs to be reformed as soon as possible. Those who are waiting for places, whether on concessionary tickets or otherwise, need to be told that they will have transport to school. The way the school transport system is operating is a national scandal. It is excluding young people and preventing them from attending the school of their choice. It is not a modern system and it requires reform and until that happens, we will be excluding some families and individuals from the education they deserve. This is another example of a simple decision being made to reform. The process may be complex but it can be achieved. Finally, I support the calls that have been made for the reform of the SUSI grant system, which is out of date and out of step with modern society.

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