James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

There is a lot there. If I do not get to it all in 60 seconds, I will come back to Deputy Timmins. ETBs provide a very valuable role across a number of areas and a number of goals. I never regard an educational course as a tick box. The pursuit of knowledge is a public good. Whether someone is in the labour force, is unemployed or has disabilities, it is always a benefit to the individual and to society if they progress their education to whatever extent, short or long. There are many different paths through it. We have early school leavers who avail of community training centres.

There are specialist training providers in the system for people with disabilities. There are community education organisations. Some learners will progress a FET qualification. They can then be QQI awarded and given points for that, which they can then use to apply to the CAO directly, coming through what we call a QQI pathway rather than the traditional leaving certificate points system. There are also the tertiary courses I mentioned. There are a number of different options. There is everything from specialist industrial skills to people pursuing knowledge and hobbies and gaining confidence to come outside the home and pursue education. There is a range of different courses and objectives. I would consider them all of significant value.

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