Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleague, Deputy Alan Farrell, for raising this very important issue this evening and also for talking about it on a regular and ongoing basis. I also thank him for his interest in and commitment to FET and in particular how it can benefit the community of Swords in the county of Fingal.

As the Deputy has outlined, Fingal county has shown the highest growth of any local authority in Ireland over the past 20 years. Swords is officially the largest town in Dublin and the second largest in the country, and in the next decade it is expected to reach a population of 100,000. The previous census, in 2016, showed the population was approximately 46,000. The growth since then has been significant and that will continue. Increasing further education and training provision to meet the needs of the diverse and fast-growing community in Swords and in Fingal is a priority for the Department and the Government and I am pleased to say it is a priority for the DDLETB. I know the Deputy has met with the board to discuss the issue.

Significant progress has already been made. The opening of the new FET facility for Swords, Burgundy House, took place in autumn 2021, following delays experienced by many projects due to Covid. I am delighted the centre is now open. It is exceptionally well equipped, with two IT suites, plus five spacious classrooms, as well as plans for further development of the third floor. Together with the neighbouring facility in the plaza, these centres are very accessible and are in a town centre location. The DDLETB has also invested considerably in Balbriggan with the opening of a second FET centre there, Castlemill Education Centre, in 2019. These developments, coupled together, have more than doubled FET capacity in the north east of the county and that is most welcome.

I can also confirm that work is ongoing on the development of the second set of three-year strategic performance agreements between SOLAS and the 16 ETBs. These agreements are an opportunity for SOLAS as the FET agency to sit down with the ETBs and invite them to map out their strategic priorities and how they, individually, intend to contribute to our overall aim and ambition for FET. Furthermore, the agreements identify the key risks and challenges which must be mitigated and addressed in order to ensure successful delivery of these agreements in the region. I have no doubt that any issues in relation to the demand for FET provision in Swords will be addressed in the strategic performance agreement process between SOLAS and the DDLETB.

I am also pleased to be talking about the matter this evening in the context of the significant announcement we have just made on capital spending in both higher and further education. We have set out our intention to spend €430 million on new capital programmes in the further and higher education sector between now and 2025. Some 45% of that is allocated to FET. This is truly a scale of capital investment that we have not seen in a very long time, if ever. The capital investment will invite our ETBs to put forward their ideas for a FET college of the future project. I note that in its submission to the Fingal county development plan for 2023 to 2029, the DDLETB outlined the business case for the development of a new FET college of the future in Fingal. My understanding is that it intends to develop a new integrated college structure and campus in Swords with satellite campuses around the county of Fingal, including Burgundy House and Baldoyle Training Centre. It wants to create a centre of excellence offering integrated, seamless learning opportunities and to provide learning pathways for school-leavers and adults in Fingal.

In its submission, it also presented a case for commissioning and developing a new outdoor education facility to meet the growing needs of the younger population to which Deputy Farrell referred in Fingal, thereby future-proofing perhaps the needs of young people to connect, engage and develop in their own community. It will be invited to put that forward now as part of our capital call.

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