Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am grateful to the Ceann Comhairle for reselecting this particular Topical Issue matter and, indeed, to the Minister for making himself available at this very late hour.

As previously discussed with the Minister and, indeed, Education and Training Boards Ireland, ETBI, in recent weeks, there is a clear deficiency in further and higher education facilities in Fingal, specifically, in Swords, the county town and one of the fastest growing communities in the country with a population expected to exceed 100,000 people in the next decade.

The services are currently met by facilities which are perhaps reflective of prior policies of 20 or 30 years ago. The emphasis the Minister has placed on the enhancement of further and higher education in Ireland is welcome, including the very significant increase in budgets that the education and training boards, ETBs, have mentioned for delivery nationwide. Swords in particular, with such a dense population, offers the possibility of developing and delivering additional educational facilities that can unlock skills and take Ireland into the next decade. As the climate action spokesperson for my party, I know it is vital for a carbon-neutral society that we deliver upon the likes of the retrofitting scheme with the necessary skill sets. Clearly, this will be a dramatic area of growth in the coming years, not to mention the range of other training available across the State, and through apprenticeships.

It is extraordinarily important to see the further education and training, FET, feature that is available on CAO applications this year. I commend the Minister on his relentless focus on this much neglected area of education and the development of apprenticeships in existing and emerging sectors, such as cybersecurity and other technology which will emerge in the coming years as vital.

Fingal is the most diverse and youngest community in the country and it is the youngest community in Europe. On that basis, there should be significant further investment by the Department in Swords and in communities like Balbriggan, which again has seen dramatic growth in recent decades. Fifteen years ago the population of Balbriggan was 6,000 to 7,000 and now it is in excess of 20,000. However, there are gaps and I believe that Fingal is one such gap that can be addressed, in particular with the additional emphasis that has been placed by the Government and the Minister on this sector. In order to meet the need to give people the option both at local and national level to meet the skills required in the coming decades, it is crucial that we invest in the long-term health of the nation and its long-term education. Moreover, by providing these services in areas of maximum impact that will be key to this goal, Swords offers the Department a chance to make a significant impact on a young and growing population. I fully expect the coming census to show the population is far above 55,000, if not 60,000. I hope the Minister, along with the Education and Training Boards Ireland and the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board, DDLETB, will look upon it as a suitable location given its proximity to the city but also the significant young population that is located there.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleague, Deputy Alan Farrell, for raising this very important issue this evening and also for talking about it on a regular and ongoing basis. I also thank him for his interest in and commitment to FET and in particular how it can benefit the community of Swords in the county of Fingal.

As the Deputy has outlined, Fingal county has shown the highest growth of any local authority in Ireland over the past 20 years. Swords is officially the largest town in Dublin and the second largest in the country, and in the next decade it is expected to reach a population of 100,000. The previous census, in 2016, showed the population was approximately 46,000. The growth since then has been significant and that will continue. Increasing further education and training provision to meet the needs of the diverse and fast-growing community in Swords and in Fingal is a priority for the Department and the Government and I am pleased to say it is a priority for the DDLETB. I know the Deputy has met with the board to discuss the issue.

Significant progress has already been made. The opening of the new FET facility for Swords, Burgundy House, took place in autumn 2021, following delays experienced by many projects due to Covid. I am delighted the centre is now open. It is exceptionally well equipped, with two IT suites, plus five spacious classrooms, as well as plans for further development of the third floor. Together with the neighbouring facility in the plaza, these centres are very accessible and are in a town centre location. The DDLETB has also invested considerably in Balbriggan with the opening of a second FET centre there, Castlemill Education Centre, in 2019. These developments, coupled together, have more than doubled FET capacity in the north east of the county and that is most welcome.

I can also confirm that work is ongoing on the development of the second set of three-year strategic performance agreements between SOLAS and the 16 ETBs. These agreements are an opportunity for SOLAS as the FET agency to sit down with the ETBs and invite them to map out their strategic priorities and how they, individually, intend to contribute to our overall aim and ambition for FET. Furthermore, the agreements identify the key risks and challenges which must be mitigated and addressed in order to ensure successful delivery of these agreements in the region. I have no doubt that any issues in relation to the demand for FET provision in Swords will be addressed in the strategic performance agreement process between SOLAS and the DDLETB.

I am also pleased to be talking about the matter this evening in the context of the significant announcement we have just made on capital spending in both higher and further education. We have set out our intention to spend €430 million on new capital programmes in the further and higher education sector between now and 2025. Some 45% of that is allocated to FET. This is truly a scale of capital investment that we have not seen in a very long time, if ever. The capital investment will invite our ETBs to put forward their ideas for a FET college of the future project. I note that in its submission to the Fingal county development plan for 2023 to 2029, the DDLETB outlined the business case for the development of a new FET college of the future in Fingal. My understanding is that it intends to develop a new integrated college structure and campus in Swords with satellite campuses around the county of Fingal, including Burgundy House and Baldoyle Training Centre. It wants to create a centre of excellence offering integrated, seamless learning opportunities and to provide learning pathways for school-leavers and adults in Fingal.

In its submission, it also presented a case for commissioning and developing a new outdoor education facility to meet the growing needs of the younger population to which Deputy Farrell referred in Fingal, thereby future-proofing perhaps the needs of young people to connect, engage and develop in their own community. It will be invited to put that forward now as part of our capital call.

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

There was some very positive news contained within the Minister's response. I was especially pleased to be informed recently of the very significant increase in the capital budget and to learn that, as he mentioned, a substantial part of it, 45%, is to be expended in this particular area. That shows the sort of commitment we need in order to meet the demand of a growing young population, but also to broaden the options available to younger people, in particular school-leavers.

My engagement with ETBI was based on an exceptional level of knowledge and information exchange. A number of Dublin Deputies attended the meeting last week, as well as Deputies from all over the country. A level of ambition was set out, in particular in trying to support and deliver upon recent Government policy in the area of retrofitting but also areas like cybersecurity and the technology and software of the future. That is something I would wholeheartedly support.

I am very pleased to hear of the emphasis on the delivery of such a facility in the community of Swords with satellite facilities to be delivered elsewhere or enhanced in other communities. The community in Fingal will certainly welcome this level of investment. I very much look forward to visiting the fantastic new facility in County Louth on Monday. Later this month, I will meet with the DDLETB in order to thrash out its plans for my constituency, so the Minister's response is very welcome. I appreciate his presence this evening at this very late hour.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I again thank Deputy Farrell for raising the issue. My message to the DDLETB in the context of Swords, and my message to all ETBs, is that we have a very significant pot of funding to invest in FET colleges of the future, to expand provision and to upgrade facilities for exactly the reasons the Deputy outlines, including the need to make sure we have the skills we require in this country to meet some of the massive challenges we face in particular in the area Deputy Farrell has responsibility for in my party in terms of the climate agenda, retrofitting, the green economy but also regarding Housing for All and making sure we can meet our housing targets and upskill and reskill people. There are so many opportunities in that regard.

This will be an opportunity for all the ETBs, including Dublin and Dún Laoghaire ETB, to put forward their proposals. I note with interest and excitement the fact a lot of work has already been done in Fingal in regard to how they will deliver this, with Swords as the hub and with spokes out across other parts of the county.

I want to take the opportunity to thank everybody involved in DDLETB for their work and thank everybody involved in adult education in the Deputy's constituency for the work they have done. It has been a very challenging number of years with the Covid pandemic, to put it mildly, but really good work is being done. I am delighted to say there are 152 courses planned in 2022, offering 1,396 places in Swords in further education and training, which is a 28% increase on 2019, which is probably the last comparable year before the Covid pandemic. Of course, delivery methods include part-time, full-time, online, blended and a range of unaccredited provisions and accredited provisions up to level 5. There is a new vocational training opportunity course to be delivered in the area in 2022 and there is also specialist provision for early school leavers in Swords Youthreach Centre, where there are adult literacy and back to education programmes. A lot of very good work is being done in Swords in this area. I look forward to the discussions we will have about how we can do more and future-proof that offering.