Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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10. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of new resources from budget 2026 allocated specifically to further education and training provision, community education, Youthreach and community training centres; the capital and current funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55972/25]

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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I would like to ask the Minister about specific allocations in the budget for further education and training, community education, Youthreach and community training centres. These programmes play a vital role in inclusion, lifelong learning and skills development, yet they operate with limited resources. Could the Minister please outline the new resources, capital and current, that are being allocated and explain how these will strengthen local provision for further education?

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy. My Department has secured a gross allocation of almost €5 billion in budget 2026. That will support the delivery of inclusive high-quality learning opportunities across the entire tertiary education system. In 2026, we secured an additional investment of €79 million for apprenticeship delivery, as well as €2.5 million to permanently reduce student fees for apprenticeships. This is not a once-off. This is the largest single investment since the Department was formed in 2020. The total investment for apprenticeships will be over €400 million, more than double what it was in 2020.

I have also secured investment of €2 million to expand the fund for students with disabilities, ensuring that learners with intellectual disabilities are supported across all levels of study. This will increase that fund from €5.7 million to €7.7 million in 2026. In addition, a funding uplift of over €30 million was allocated, which includes public sector and other pay increases and supports the retention of staff in the FET sector.

Community education, Youthreach and community training centres, CTCs, are valued pillars of the further education and training sector. While no specific additional funding was acquired in budget 2026, SOLAS has advised that the allocation for this cohort increased from nearly €123 million in 2024 to €126 million in 2025. On the last part of the Deputy's question, the capital allocation for the tertiary sector for 2026 is €810 million, representing a significant increase from the 2025 allocation of €677 million. Finally, the allocation for the FET sector will be finalised in the coming weeks.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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It is wonderful to see the amount of money going into all that which the Minister of State outlined. It is much needed. I am concerned, however, for three parts, one of which is capital budgets for buildings. The Minister of State has visited many different places around the country. As she knows, I have worked in education for a very long time, and I have been to see adult education centres, Youthreach programmes and community training centres that are working out of buildings that really need to be retrofitted. They are cold, old and draughty. Capital investment in this area is important to make sure learners, teachers and staff are well supported.

The other thing I am interested in is ring-fencing resources for those organisations. The fantastic courses that are provided in each of these centres need to be accompanied by resources, such as 3D printers, to facilitate upskilling all the time. I am just using that as an example, but it is about ring-fencing resources in particular. I will come back in on pay and conditions.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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To specifically answer the Deputy's question around capital, the allocation for the tertiary sector in 2026 is €810 million. Last year, the allocation was €677 million, so we can see that represents an increase of €133 million, which is quite significant. That will help to deliver research capacity and a pipeline of transformative projects, which will support a thriving, inclusive - that is a really important word - and future-focused education and research ecosystem. The allocation to the further education and training sector will be finalised in the coming period, and it is important to say it will support infrastructure projects through the minor capital works emergency health and safety works, small- and medium-scale projects under the strategic infrastructure upgrade fund and large-scale projects under the FET College of the Future, which, as the Deputy knows, is a major project fund.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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I am a bit concerned that the FET aspect will only be finalised in the future. FET sometimes is forgotten, and it is such an important part. The Minister of State talked about inclusive education. FET is a form of education that enables social mobility. People entering into FET often come through community and adult education. We need to make sure that is not forgotten.

With regard to pay and conditions, the last point I want to raise is that for Youthreach and community centres, even though they are valued, there is no additional funding. I know from working on the ground that there is a difficulty with funding, particularly for community training centres. I am on the board of one such centre. It has windows that are in bits, and it is draughty. That capital expenditure is important, but so are the pay and conditions for those staff members who still have not been brought into the public sector. It is really important that when we have all these millions and billions of euro, the nitty-gritty on the ground has to be addressed, particularly for staff members because they cannot teach vulnerable learners if they are not protected in their employment.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I will deal with two issues the Deputy raised, one of which is funding to community education, Youthreach and CTCs. I did say there is no specific additional funding in 2026. SOLAS has advised that the investment in community education increased by 55% from 2018 to 2024, from nearly €11 million to over €70 million now. Therefore, we can see that the funding is increasing. We also introduced the reach fund in 2020. The Deputy knows what that fund does and the importance of it. We are pleased to announce that over €4.5 million from that fund will benefit more than 700 community education providers. SOLAS has advised that in regard to Youthreach, the allocation has increased from €74 million in 2024 to €76 million this year.

Finally, in regard to public sector pay grades and pay and conditions, the community training centres were established in 1977. They are grant aided by the education and training boards. In response to the Deputy's query, the Department has no role in the employment of CTC staff, including terms and conditions for the pay. As the Deputy knows, because she is a member of the board, it is the responsibility of the independent board of directors.