James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy. There is a simple answer, but since the Deputy probably wants some details, I will tell him a bit more. I am very passionate and excited about the opportunity we have provided through the National Training Fund. There is a surplus in the fund of almost €1.5 billion and that has been accumulated through employer contributions over several years. The issue today is that it has been difficult to fully harness the potential of the fund because it was first envisaged as a labour activation measure in times of economic turbulence when people on the live register were trying to get back into the workforce for reskilling and upskilling. This is still important but thankfully, for now, the economic climate is more robust.

The use of that money can be more purposefully put towards plugging the core funding gap in higher education, for example. The Cassells report identified €307 million of a shortfall between what the colleges were receiving and what they actually needed to operate. I intend to put €150 million per year current funding into the colleges to plug that gap. That should close the funding gap once and for all. It is a really significant measure if we achieve that. There is also money ring-fenced for apprenticeships and for the further education system. There is also money ring-fenced from capital spending and decarbonisation of the higher education estate. There are moneys ring-fenced for the likes of the new courses in medicine. We have new courses starting in Galway and Limerick, pharmacy and veterinary courses in ATU and SETU, and a number of other professional courses which are being supported through the National Training Fund, along with investment and research. The research stipends have increased to €25,000 from €16,000, a very significant leap. They are really the fuel that drives our information economy, our PhD students and researchers. That is being supported through it as well, along with some capital allocation. To do that, I need to legislate for it. As originally envisaged, it is not allowed for the money to be spend in that way. I hope to bring that legislation before the House this year.

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