Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has mentioned the work done to bring these institutions together and I was thinking that my political epitaph might be that I brought Cork and Kerry together. It is significant and this is a very important step. I thank the people who have been working at this for years in Cork and Kerry. I thank my predecessor, former Deputy and Minister of State, Ms Mary Mitchell O'Connor, and the outgoing presidents of Cork Institute of Technology and the Institute of Technology, Tralee. I also thank Mr. Savage, who is chairperson of the governing authority, and everybody who has worked so hard to get to this point.

The Deputy's idea is absolutely right and we must start at the school level trying to excite people in science and research innovation. As I have said, there is a once in a generation opportunity to do that with so much focus on science and research in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. There are also questions around climate and digitisation as well.

A huge body of work has been done to get to this point, and the regional skills forum for the south west is key in identifying the skills needs. The Deputy mentioned the large cluster of pharmaceutical companies, and we must ensure we can provide graduates not just for now but also for the jobs of the future. I am looking forward to visiting Cork with the Deputy in January and engaging on these matters.

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