Dáil debates

Tuesday, 22 May 2018

Priority Questions

Post-Leaving Certificate Courses Availability

4:55 pm

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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39. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will agree to the reopening of further education and training being provided by second level schools (details supplied) in Dublin 15; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22498/18]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The constituency of Dublin West, including Dublin 15, Blanchardstown, Castleknock, Mulhuddart and Clonsilla, has a population well in excess of 100,000, making it far bigger than the cities of Waterford or Limerick. It is one of the largest centres of urban population in Ireland. It does not have a single dedicated post-leaving certificate, PLC, facility. I have repeatedly raised this with both the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, and the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Bruton. I note there are between 3,500 and 4,500 local authority houses in the area, as well as a great deal of renting but in the face of a skills shortage in Ireland, there are significant numbers of people whose talents still are not being developed or utilised through employment. The missing link is the development of a dedicated PLC facility for the area. This should start with the reinstatement of the PLC facilities at Blakestown Community School and Riversdale Community College, which is under the aegis of an education and training board, ETB. I keep being told by the Ministers that they cannot expand the numbers. It is an enormous pity for all of the adults who would happily do PLC courses, but who cannot avail of them in their own locality.

5:05 pm

Photo of John HalliganJohn Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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I thank Deputy Burton. I spoke to her about this very briefly several weeks ago.

In Dublin 15, further education and training, FET, provision is planned by Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board, DDLETB, to cater for over 21,000 beneficiaries this year, offering a wide range of courses consisting mainly of part-time and community adult education, some of which is delivered on the site of one of the two schools referred to by Deputy Burton in the information she supplied.

Higher level full-time FET provision is concentrated in post-leaving certificate colleges and the training centre network. Generally, we have found that full-time learners are willing to travel further to these locations. On offer through the City of Dublin Education and Training Board, CDETB, is a full range of full and part-time further education and training courses up to and including level 6, details of which are available on www.fetchcourse.ie. Provision this year is planned to meet the needs of around 50,000 beneficiaries in the greater Dublin area.

In the context of the overall annual planning of FET provision, it is a matter for each education and training board to determine how best it should distribute FET programme allocations, including post-leaving certificate, to meet the needs of the area. This year, almost 2,800 post-leaving certificate places were allocated to DDLETB and almost 7,500 post-leaving certificate places were allocated to CDETB.

The Deputy may wish to note that one of the schools referred to, Riversdale community college, is in the management of DDLETB and it would be matter, as the Deputy knows, for it to decide on courses to be offered at that location. The second school is not under ETB management and would need put in place its own quality assurance arrangements before it could seek to offer further full-time FET provision.

My Department has brought the matter raised by the Deputy in her question to the attention of DDLETB in order that it can be taken into account in terms of future planning for FET provision for Dublin 15.

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for his answer and for taking an interest. However, I did not hear him state that he can provide badly needed and desired further education and training places, which ideally could be restarted in the two schools I mentioned because they used to do them in significant numbers. I assure the Minister of State that among the several thousand local authority houses and rented houses surrounding each school there would be a very strong take-up of a post-leaving certificate option and other further education and training options. This would be a very strong route to further employment and further education for those students who took up these options.

It is a wasted opportunity on the part of the Government not to make provision in an area where there is a great deal of employment. As we were told recently by the Taoiseach, permits are now being issued to bring in foreign workers as opposed to training the people who are already here in the country. In Dublin 15 we have our own citizens and there are many people who have immigrated to Ireland. The Minister talks about the education and training board for County Dublin having facilities for post-leaving certificate courses, but they are over on the south side, in places such as Sallynoggin. How are people supposed to get from Blanchardstown to Sallynoggin?

Photo of John HalliganJohn Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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If I were to be quite frank with the Deputy, I would say that the area is probably not as well served as other areas in the context of the capital budget. There has been huge investment in schools there. The demand on the budget is significant. The vocational education opportunities scheme, VTOS, was previously on offer to Riversdale community college but due to a decline in demand, believe it or not, it was not possible to form a VTOS class this year or last year so it was not continued. That was in 2016 and 2017. In Dublin, within commuting distance - and the Deputy knows this so I probably do not need to tell her - there are the Liberties, Dublin 11, Dublin 10, Dublin 4, Ballsbridge and Inchicore. SOLAS, which is responsible for the ESRI evaluation, makes recommendations on the geographic distribution of planning and organisational provision and better alignment between supply and demand, and the distribution of post-leaving certificate places between the ETBs will be reviewed in the context of the data, skill needs and employment availability overall.

I spoke to the Deputy a few weeks ago, and I reiterate my view that the area is probably not as well served as others. There is no point in saying something I do not believe. Assessments have found that people within the area are willing to travel to areas where it is provided. An evaluation is being carried out by SOLAS.

Photo of Pat GallagherPat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I ask speakers to have some control on time because other Members are waiting.

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I invite the Minister of State to visit Dublin 15, particularly the two schools and the two areas. He made a suggestion originally that, effectively, people would travel to Dún Laoghaire or Sallynoggin. His follow-up suggestions were the Liberties and Ballsbridge, if I heard him correctly. In terms of transport options in Dublin, the fact is a lot of people who have limited transport themselves are unlikely to go somewhere that is up to two hours away from where they live. Often, there is no public transport option that would take them directly. I invite the Minister of State to visit the two schools in Dublin West because the point about these schools is the staff are working very hard to maximise the opportunities of all of the students who attend them and of the adult population in the area, particularly those who have remained in unemployment over a long period, to give them opportunities to get back into education and to go further in education after their leaving certificate and to qualify. Many people would be interested, for instance, in taking up apprenticeships, particularly people coming through education, but there is work to be done on all of this.

Photo of John HalliganJohn Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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I remind the Deputy that SOLAS is responsible for the allocation of post-leaving certificate places in the overall national provision. Having said that, I would be delighted to take up the Deputy's offer to visit the area. I will re-engage with the Deputy at a later date. This will be my third time stating that I accept the fact that the area is probably not as well served. Perhaps I will visit the area at a time that is convenient to the Deputy.