Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)

While Tipperary ETB may have tried to find solutions to avoid this situation, and it claims that "no current learners are impacted, as all students enrolled in these programmes have completed their programme", that is simply not true. I have received all the testimonials from these learners. All are very much impacted and all are now struggling to come to terms with what is next for them.

At the heart of communities and smaller towns throughout the country are FET courses that give young people a second chance at education. The Minister of State and I can both acknowledge that conventional classroom education does not suit everyone. LTI courses, such as the one in Cashel, offer a lifeline to other opportunities, which allows them to further their education to college level. I ask her to urgently reassess this. I hear that she is trying, but she needs to go into this decision deeper and quicker in order to allow these learners to continue with their education, as they deserve that and should not be put in this situation.

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