John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

Like previous speakers, I welcome the opportunity to participate in this debate. I echo the sentiment expressed so well by the speaker before me in complimenting the Minister on seizing the opportunity that has been afforded to the country to attract new talent and new research opportunities in the third level sector through the global talent initiative. In early monastic times, Ireland was known as the island of saints and scholars. I am not sure we can still own the saints tag but this welcome initiative certainly will help us to regain the scholars tag. I also welcome the Minister's undertaking, which he mentioned earlier in the debate, on a new initiative to replicate the original programme for research in third level institutions. That will be very welcome. All of this highlights the Government's commitment to using research as a fundamental bedrock for future economic development.

I am from a city that fortunately has an abundance of third level institutions. They include the University of Galway, previously known as NUI Galway and, before that, UCG, Atlantic Technological University, ATU, and a growing number of institutions advertising and promoting the opportunity for students to take part in post-leaving certificate courses. The Minister is to visit Galway this week. One of the functions he will perform there is laying the foundation sod for the new library at the University of Galway, which is a very welcome development. There are other ongoing opportunities at the university, including the really exciting new graduate programme in medicine.

I take the opportunity to stress again a point I have made previously to the Minister, which is that there is a greater demand for primary school teachers in the system at the moment. The Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO, maintains there might be a shortfall in the region of 2,000. We are going to see continued expansion in the area of special education and special classes. The University of Galway is well placed to offer the opportunity for graduates to undertake a postgraduate qualification in primary school teaching. I ask the Minister to give that some consideration.

There has been a substantial increase in recent years in the number of students attending ATU. We have seen the evolution of the institution from regional technical college to institute of technology to technological university, now with sister colleges in Castlebar, Sligo and Letterkenny. It is a fundamental part of Galway city and, in those terms, it certainly could be described as an economic enabler. Many of the people who come to Galway to study at the third level institutions go on to live in the city afterwards. The foundations of many of the major employment centres in Galway can be traced back to the city's universities and the qualifications people gained there.

When I saw the title of the debate, I wondered whether the focus would be on third level education as an economic enabler for individuals or for wider society. There is a challenge in this regard and many speakers have done well in outlining the barriers to education. The Minister is committed to breaking down many of those barriers. He mentioned fees and targeted measures to broaden the pathway to participation in further education. I have a slight concern in that I do not see the barriers presenting themselves only at the end of second level. If children develop an indifferent attitude to school attendance at primary or secondary level, it is very unlikely that at the end of their time in secondary school, they will have a dawning realisation that there is an opportunity for them in the third level sector.

We always need to be conscious of that. We need to fund our primary and secondary schools adequately so that children are well in school and enjoy coming to school and there is good co-operation between the school and the home when it comes to developing positive attitudes to education from the youngest age. That is one of the fundamental barriers to participation in third level.

A slight concern has to do with the title of this debate, which refers to higher education as an economic enabler. I am concerned that, at times, we reduce education to just being a tool for our economy. It should be much more than that. Education should be about enabling and creating many other values in our society, such as empathy and community, with creativity being particularly important. Galway is a place that marks itself for that.

I wish the Minister well in his role and compliment him on his efforts to date.

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