Gillian Toole (Meath East, Independent)

I welcome and support this amendment to section 7 of the National Training Fund Act. I am extremely interested in and grateful for the discussion that we have had. This process in itself is a learning process for me. It will not be any surprise to either the Minister or the Minister of State that I want to focus my attention on Louth and Meath Education and Training Board, ETB, and Dunboyne College of Further Education and its hopeful transition to soon becoming a college of the future. I think the college will meet the criteria outlined in the amendment to the Act. Its vision is to meet the further education and training needs of the community of learners and employers it serves in five counties, including the Minister's county, Kildare. It is serving a population of approximately 454,000 people and a large employment base across the five counties. The college has expanded from its genesis in 2003, with 80 pupils and five courses, to a current enrolment of 1,400 pupils, 93 staff and over 70 courses in key areas we have identified, namely, healthcare, social care, education, childcare and science, with an array of pre-university courses for students to transfer on to Maynooth University, to the echnological university, to DCU and further afield, including Trinity most recently. Next week, Maynooth University will introduce a new nursing course, with Dunboyne as a feeder college. With all of these courses, Dunboyne college has the agility and the flexibility to be a college of the future to grow and meet the needs of the economy and the employer. With the emphasis we have all placed on special education, Dunboyne college will be uniquely placed in a highly populated area to provide the training needs of students in that field.

I am grateful for the engagement of the Department and the personnel of SOLAS in helping the executive of Louth and Meath ETB to progress the preliminary business case. In regard to the potential use of the fund for the capital aspect, Dunboyne college absolutely makes the case. I will give some of the statistics as a refresher and I apologise if it is repetitive. The annual rent and transport costs are €900,000. The college is 100% leased across 27 units, with 23 landlords. The college is occupying five second-hand prefabs in an area zoned for industrial use. There are six off-campus specialist centres, so that is contributing to a very high transport cost. Students are basically going around all County Meath. The statistics on decarbonisation are frightening. I know we are looking at maybe 2027 onwards for potential use of the funding. I do not want to scare the daylights out of anyone, but a few of the basic daily functionality issues are fire safety, disability access, poor circulation space, narrow corridors, inadequate staircases and single toilets in units, not even toilet blocks. The campus is located in an industrial park, the BER certificate ratings are very poor, and there is inefficient heating, inadequate natural ventilation and poorly insulated buildings. Despite this, 1,400 students are enrolled, with 93 staff members and over 70 courses available. It is undeniable that Dunboyne college is a very deserving case for the future and expanded distribution of funds from the National Training Fund.

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