Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)

I am really happy to be able to participate in this discussion. This is my first contribution on the floor of this House since being appointed junior Minister with special responsibility for further education, apprenticeship, construction and climate skills. In opening the debate, the Minister, Deputy Lawless, spoke of the importance not just of the higher education system but also of the further education and training system in helping to secure the economic social and cultural development of our country. Just for this evening we are specifically concentrating on the economic aspect. I heard what a number of my colleagues spoke about, including Deputies Cummins and Connolly, among others, but it is worth saying that the Minister, Deputy Lawless, and I fully appreciate the much broader scope of higher and further education.

Deputy Hearne spoke about the power of education. The Deputy is not in the Chamber, but when he spoke of it, he was speaking to the converted. He mentioned Ballymun. I was privileged to have taught in Ballymun earlier in my career. Through my experience there and in Mercy College Sligo, I fully appreciate the power of education across so many different spheres. Deputies Hearne and Connolly spoke about the promotion of curiosity and critical thinking, which is essential.

Today, we are concentrating on the facilitation of the development of skills and knowledge through a lifelong learning journey, both as a pathway to employment and throughout one's career. This Government aims to ensure that individuals can learn at varying skill levels at different times and at a pace that is suited to their needs. In that context, we are making real efforts to ensure lifelong learning is accessible to all. Taking this approach involves designing different educational pathways. Some of them are parallel, some intersect and some allow access at different points of that pathway. By doing that and, crucially, keeping the learner at the centre of what we do, we are harnessing the power of higher and further education to act as an economic enable in what all of us recognise is an uncertain and changing world.

As a Government, we are approaching this from a number of angles. These include but are not limited to the supply of relevant educational opportunities, both in higher and further education and training, ranging from apprenticeships, which many Deputies have spoken about, to microcredentials, from earn as you learn, which is part of the apprenticeship programme, to full-time postdoctorate qualifications, from programmes such as Springboard+ to tertiary programmes. We are investing in high-quality research and innovation, which has already been outlined by the Minister, Deputy Lawless. As a result of that, we are also attracting investment in quality jobs and, crucially, helping to maintain the jobs we have. I congratulate the Minister on his global talent initiative. It is something that we will be hearing a lot more about.

I wish to make one point. This is my personal view, and I know it is shared by the Minister. The learner is central to all of this. In that regard, access is vital. While we have made progress, we need to see further improvements. We have introduced flexibility in the structure of certain courses, reduced costs in some cases and made a variety of courses available in regional locations, something that is important to me. In this context, I agree with the Minister that the provision of student accommodation throughout the country and the development of the capabilities of the technological university sector in providing accommodation - my colleague, Deputy Kenny, spoke about it earlier - can help to drive balanced regional development. I know that this is not a simple ask. It will require a lot of work and planning, but the need is immediate. ATU in my own area in Sligo is a case in point. There is a real need for this college and others to be able to either provide accommodation or facilitate the provision of student accommodation.

I am half-way through my speech and I do not want to forget to thank my colleagues for their contributions. It is my first time sitting on this side of the House, but I have not forgotten what it is like to be in opposition. I know that there are so many genuine, good ideas and important points to be made by all Deputies. I have listened carefully. Some of the issues raised were at a local level and some had a national perspective. I have taken notes and am always available to work with Deputies.

As a former secondary school teacher, I wish to mention one point about the operation of the CAO. The programme for Government has committed to CAO reform. We know that the lead-up to the leaving certificate is hugely stressful for students, parents and school communities. On a personal level, the outcome of the leaving certificate, although important, is just another stop in a lifelong process. Nonetheless, some reform is important, and some has begun, with information on further education, training and apprenticeships now available on the CAO website. In addition, our objective is to reduce the pressure on students and increase the pathways to access further and higher education. We are working to ensure that we maintain a plurality of pathways for learners in order that they have more than one way of getting to their preferred courses.

My time is running out. As Minister of State with responsibility for apprenticeships, the expansion of apprenticeships is a major priority for me and the Government. Apprenticeships offer a unique pathway to a job while allowing students to earn as they gain important qualifications. These kinds of option, which allow people to earn a living while studying and acquiring skills, can have a transformative effect on affordability and accessibility for the many people who wish to pursue this particular journey.

I commend previous Ministers because, in 2024, we saw major progress towards our ambitious targets of 10,000 annual apprenticeships registered by the end of 2025 and 12,500 by the end of 2030, with 9,352 registrations in 2024. That is real progress. We still have a lot of work to do, but those who have gone before us have done good work.

My Department will now be developing the strategy for apprenticeships over the next five years. In the action plan, we will continue to improve the effectiveness of apprenticeships for employers and learners and safeguard the ability of the apprenticeship training programme to respond to global shocks, namely, demographic change, climate change, digitalisation, and to national needs such as promoting modern methods of construction, retrofitting skills, etc.

I apologise, as I have much more to say. I listened and I will respond to the Deputies. I thank them for their contributions, which have been useful and informative. I say it genuinely that I look forward to working with all of them.

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