James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister of State for dealing comprehensively with a number of issues. I will take up any remaining issues. I thank Sinn Féin for its support for the Bill and engage with the comments its Members made. There is a funding deficit in the university sector that was well called out in the Cassells report and again in 2022 in the Funding the Future report, which built on that. One of the purposes of this Bill is to address that through the allocation of €150 million out to 2030 to close that gap, which is something I am very much determined to do.

Deputies McGettigan and Conway-Walsh raised research funding and the need for investment. It was argued that the percentage of GDP we spend on research and development is not where it should, which I agree with. This is something I said consistently since being appointed as Minister. It is also something IBEC called for in correspondence with me and in its stated positions and it is being addressed in this Bill and other measures such as the research infrastructure programme I intend to introduce in the coming weeks. In this Bill alone, we are supporting 3,000 PhD students with additional stipends and research funding so that is a major step change and is very much consistent with the overall purpose of the Bill and the asks of organisations like IBEC.

I am very much on board with all-island apprenticeship development and I am working on with the Minister for the Economy, Caoimhe Archibald, in Northern Ireland. Time is short so I will not go into that too much. The Minister of State has dealt with many of the issues.

Deputy Conway-Walsh raised decarbonisation projects. "Decarbonisation" can sometimes be an umbrella term. What we are really is modernisation, refurbishment, rendering things fit for purpose, taking brownfield sites, some of which are antiquated, and putting them back into action. It has been a learning experience providing modern state-of-the-art equipment and, in terms of universal access, making them available to learners with disabilities thereby broadening the pool of learners who can access the facilities, which is a good thing for the workforce.

Deputy Ó Murchú spoke about the budget. I will not rehash this as we have had a number of debates on it. I am very proud that I was able to deliver a combination of targeted supports, including increases in maintenance grants, increases in thresholds, increases in funding for supports for students with disabilities and mental health difficulties, along with bringing in some universal measures such as the €500 cut in fees on a permanent basis, the largest ever package for apprenticeships, honouring national pay deals and the 1,100 additional healthcare places.

I welcome the support of the Labour Party for the Bill. Deputy Duncan Smith referred to apprenticeships and capital facilities. I have said several times that this Department is an engine of economic growth as is education and innovation. The Deputy put it well when he said employer's PRSI funds your pension, while the NTF is there to fund your education and skills. I agree completely. That is the purpose of this scheme. He mentioned a voucher scheme as did other speakers. This is something I witnessed in Singapore on a trade mission in the middle of the summer and I am open to investigating if we can do that in a way that promotes quality provision.

I welcome the support of the Social Democrats for the Bill. Deputy Jen Cummins spoke about the capital uplift that is necessary and to allocate that across higher education institutes. She also spoke about Youthreach. I was in a Youthreach centre in Naas this morning. I was also with the Trinity access programme in Oriel House around the corner in Pearse Street earlier today. Some good investment in those facilities is really needed. Regarding investment in further education and training, we have Mount Lucas Construction Centre, the advanced manufacturing facility in Dundalk, the hospitality campus in Limerick, life sciences in Cork and many other facilities. I want to have more of those with the capital spend in this.

I thank Deputy Maeve O'Connell for her comments and agree with her on the ongoing engagement with stakeholders. I welcome the fact that they were also going to come to the committee.

Deputy Barry Ward made a few points about statutory interpretation. I will leave that to Mr. Justice Max Barrett to determine. He has a book on that.

Deputy John Connolly spoke about the direct economic impact and long-term impact. I share his welcome for the research and development tax credit and engaged with the Minister for Finance on that budget to ensure that was increased to 35%.

Deputy Gogarty referenced the German system. I have seen the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in action and some of the models they use there. I agree that it is probably the gold standard for apprenticeships. The Deputy spoke about dental places. I was in the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland yesterday and welcomed the 35 new places in Sandyford that are being provided in dentistry. The NTF includes €130 million in funding for dentistry, pharmacy, physiotherapy, veterinary and medical courses - all those healthcare professional courses.

Deputy Shane Moynihan spoke about an agile and responsive workforce, which is so important. It is somewhere where we have an ongoing embrace of technology. This will allow us to access funding to embrace technology, move with the times and remain agile, responsive and flexible. He made a point about tertiary education being a combined platform across all the different fields. At the Labour Party conference in the UK, Keir Starmer spoke about how he is changing the rules. There was a target in the UK of one in two accessing higher education. He has now set a new target so rather than one in two going to university, two out of three will go to university or take up an apprenticeship. That is a much broader, more ambitious and more progressive aim. I conversed with some of my colleagues at the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly earlier in the week.

Deputy Toole mentioned Louth and Meath Education and Training Board and Dunboyne, which is close to my heart as it is in my constituency. The Minister of State and I work are working on that issue in terms of colleges of the future. Time is against me so I thank all those who spoke. I paid close attention to them as did my officials and the Minister of State. We will take them all on board as the Bill progresses.

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