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

On Monday last, the Government unveiled plans to reform the CAO system of access to third level education. This news is certainly welcome and the three-year plan will lead to an increase in the number of apprenticeships to 10,000 every year by 2025. The programme should be much more ambitious in respect of apprenticeships, however. I propose that the target should be 15,000 apprenticeships by 2022. There is a severe housing shortage and we need apprentices to be fast-tracked in order to help with the demand in this regard.

While it has been great that the students have been able to commence their studies in college, I am of the view that this was just a box-ticking exercise on the part of some universities. Of all the cohorts of students, none has been more affected by Covid-19 than this year's first-year students. First, they had the controversy relating to the leaving certificate to deal with. The results which followed were like no others in the history of the State. I was speaking to a parent who has a child in first year at university who has only been on campus for one hour since September. This young person has not met anyone else in their cohort and does not even have as a text buddy. The IT colleges have put in a much bigger effort for first years and have brought them in as often as possible, circumstances allowing.

We now have a Minister and a junior Minister in charge of this aspect of education. I have not heard them mention broadband as a priority for students. In recent days I had a student from Mary Immaculate College in Limerick contacted me. This person was set to do a live interview with a tutor but the broadband faded and the interview could not be completed. Another student was working towards deadlines and the broadband connection failed. Students are not even sure if their tutors believe them. This a very significant issue.

The laboratories in the universities are operating online at the moment. Laboratory classes can be small and surely this is a provision that can be made at this time in colleges, particularly with proper social distancing.

See this speech in context