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

I welcome the Bill. There is a lot done in the Bill and a lot more to do. Not everyone goes to third level education. It is great to see that even in this House I myself never got to third level education but it did not stop me from talking or representing people. No matter what education someone has, it is good and I believe it has brought a lot of common sense to this Dáil.

I am glad the Minister has introduced many of the points I have brought up relating to apprenticeship models through different sectors and in colleges throughout the country to provide an opportunity to rebuild our workforce in electronics and other trades. It is great to see that there is investment in the apprenticeship model as we had lost ten years of it when the Celtic tiger went bang.

From the point of view of providing equal opportunity for education, accommodation has to come into play. We need more investment in accommodation close to our colleges for people who do not have the transport network to get them there. Some people in our parishes, towns and villages need to get two or three different bus services to get to college. It would be great if they were given an opportunity for accommodation close to college rather than commuting for an hour and a half or two hours to get to college. It would be absolutely fantastic.

If you have an equal educational opportunity to go to college, it feeds into an equal job opportunity. For equal job opportunities, it would be great to see more investment in infrastructure outside of the cities and in large towns and areas where it would future-proof the growth of our fantastic next generation of entrepreneurs. In whatever sector they wish to go to, they should have an equal opportunity for employment in the area they live. Infrastructure is key. From an early age, for children going to primary school, through secondary school and then third level education, it is all down to equal opportunity. Whether you live in a city or the country, you should have equal opportunity to go to both places.

I welcome what is in this for the future of our next generations and I welcome all sectors of the education they will get, regardless of whether they want to go to third level or not. Education is not for everyone but whatever level people want to get to, the infrastructure should be there to make sure we protect their future.

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