Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent Ireland Party)

I wish the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, and the Minister, Deputy Lawless, the best of luck in their positions.

What has education taught us about people who want to have a right to education? It has taught us for decades that we do not have the accommodation for people who want to go to third level, either on or off campus. We have a housing crisis but we have known this for years. I have a son who is in third level education. The biggest worry he has is that we cannot get him accommodation in Galway. I have asked all the Deputies in Galway if they can help us. They say that it would be easier for me to build a house there than it would be to get him accommodation. The same is happening in Limerick. All around the country, we are finding that people that want to go to third level education are stressed about accommodation. The transport network is not in place to make sure that they can go to and from colleges. That is because the education and transport systems do not match up. If we learn anything from this, it is that we need to make sure there is proper accommodation for students who want to go to third level.

I have been saying for the past ten years that we need to invest in apprenticeships. Equally, we need to make sure that where apprenticeships are being offered, we have the proper accommodation for the people who take them up. They have to be able travel to different counties and be involved in providing the infrastructure for the next generation of people who want to go to third level. These apprentices will eventually be able to build that infrastructure, plumb it and deal with the electrical side of things. We need to make sure that education is covered off, that we listen to the people who are the next generation of educators and that we build for the future.

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