Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)

I am a bit concerned that the FET aspect will only be finalised in the future. FET sometimes is forgotten, and it is such an important part. The Minister of State talked about inclusive education. FET is a form of education that enables social mobility. People entering into FET often come through community and adult education. We need to make sure that is not forgotten.

With regard to pay and conditions, the last point I want to raise is that for Youthreach and community centres, even though they are valued, there is no additional funding. I know from working on the ground that there is a difficulty with funding, particularly for community training centres. I am on the board of one such centre. It has windows that are in bits, and it is draughty. That capital expenditure is important, but so are the pay and conditions for those staff members who still have not been brought into the public sector. It is really important that when we have all these millions and billions of euro, the nitty-gritty on the ground has to be addressed, particularly for staff members because they cannot teach vulnerable learners if they are not protected in their employment.

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