Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)

I will begin by wishing Deputies Harkin and James Lawless the very best in their positions going forward. This is the first opportunity I have had to wish them well.

We have situations where there is a rural-urban divide in higher education. My concern is that Skibbereen Adult Education Centre and Kinsale Further Education College are doing an excellent job but the problem is that we sometimes do not come up with the numbers. We have a situation whereby those who are doing the health level 5 higher education course are trying to move on to level 6. The numbers are not there and they are told to go to Cork city as a result. We have a situation with someone, maybe from Ardgroom or Castletownbere, who has to travel 130 km each day. That is not feasible. Someone from Mizen Head has to travel 125 km each day. A person from Sheep's Head has to travel 118 km each day. That is not right. There has to be some kind of subsidy put in place for education facilities in the likes of Skibbereen and Kinsale to survive.

We had the same situation last year in relation to horticulture. The horticulture course was being dropped because the numbers were not there. There are numbers but they are not adequate. The problem is that Cork will dictate. Cork can have huge numbers because it has the population. I want the Minister to look into this because people want to go to take up higher education level 6 courses in healthcare but they cannot do so. They are told to do it in Cork because they will not be able to do it in Skibbereen. That cannot be allowed to continue. In fairness, I was accommodated when I sought by seeking a meeting. That was only last week, and I will be talking to them. However, that is the point I am trying to make. Those in the rural communities to which I refer cannot be expected to travel to Cork because they will not get accommodation there. There is an opportunity for places like Skibbereen and Kinsale to thrive if they get the supports.

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