Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Department of Education produced an additional teacher education policy document which suggests that teacher provision will be led by a small number of university centres of teacher education. It appears to discount any opportunity for the new technological universities, only recently established, to engage formally with previous plans to develop a teacher training capability.

I mean no disrespect to the Minister of State personally, but it is entirely fitting that this question has been taken up by the Minister of State for disabilities, given the Government's approach to incapacitating our technological universities before they are fully established. I am referring to the recent Department of Education initial teacher education, ITE, policy statement, released by the Minister for Education, Deputy Norma Foley, on 28 March, which sets out a vision for the future of teacher education policy until 2030.

Buried on page eight is gobbledygook worthy of any Sir Humphrey. It is a declaration that no technological university will ever deliver primary education while the policy is in place. It states, "It is expected that ITE provision will be led by a small number of university-led centres of excellence, as envisaged by the Sahlberg II report." Page 84 sticks the sword in further, stating, "Technological Universities will be in a position to provide subject expertise to ITE but any plans for entirely new IT provision must be led by centre of excellence". There we have it in black and white. Technological universities are not allowed to compete for the additional higher education capacity that will be provided by the State in the coming years. In other words, get stuffed.

The university cities of Dublin, Limerick, Galway, Cork and Sligo, which includes the University of Galway, will all be looked after. Technological universities will never have teacher training. This is an artificial limit, as per Dr. Richard Thorn. The technological universities are being incapacitated by this crummy and shoddy piece of work.

Waterford was promised that the technological university would be good enough and not be an impediment to the development of a fully resourced university with a full university spectrum of courses. Ministers and previous Governments said it would be a game changer. The initial teacher education policy statement gives the clearest signal yet that the current game has not changed.

The HEA reports that 10,720 learners are studying education. This has grown by 39% in the past five years. There is, however, no growth in the south-east and given the current policy the Government is ensuring there will never be teacher training in Waterford. In fact, there never can be teacher training in Waterford.

Some 1,790 students from the south-east, comprising 16% of all scholars of education, will continue to leave our region and look for opportunities elsewhere which are not given to them in their own region. They will line the pockets of universities in Dublin, Cork and Limerick and empty homes across the south-east. This policy document is a disgrace. Technological universities will be hobbled before they are even fully established. The question is whether that was the policy designed from the outset.

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