Rónán Mullen (Independent)

However, there is a new breed of unemployed professionals, namely, those who worked in financial services or for developers who need to re-skill for new areas of employment and sectors of industry. It is clear that we need to develop a much more flexible education system which does not just train young people but which provides an education when and where people need it. In short, we need to rethink and move from a school or college-based model to a person-centred model of education. In that regard, as a person who lectures at the Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown, I was glad to see repeated references to the institute of technology sector in the Minister of State's speech. It was the institutes of technology which, in many ways, through their applied approach to third level education gave us the graduates with the skills we needed to meet the developing opportunities in the economy. It is within that sector that we will find the necessary flexibility, focus and attentiveness to the needs of emerging industry or employment possibilities.

The local approach is important. The Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown is a particularly fine example of a college which is close to its community and aware of the needs of the community it serves, particularly, but not confined to, the Dublin 15 area. It is responsive to the community's needs and builds good relationships with local schools and so on. In that regard, I am glad to note the Minister of State referred to the 6,000 additional third level places, primarily in the institute of technology sector, provided specifically for unemployed persons during the course of the year. I also note what he said about the strategic innovation fund, particularly the good work done in the areas of interactive learning, e-learning and distance learning. Many of my colleagues in the Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown use moodle - I have been slow to start using it but have a firm purpose of amendment in that regard.

The Minister of State has mentioned examples of the projects being funded, including the supported flexible learning project in institutes of technology. He is correct to say that if it is implemented successfully, it will result in mainstreaming flexible learning methods within and across the institutes of technology. He also mentioned various other initiatives. However, I did not see a reference to the Student Support Bill. Perhaps I am not completely up to speed on this but I would welcome being brought up to speed. What has happened to that? 1 o'clock

Increasingly, we are not talking about third level students in the old-fashioned sense of people who do the leaving certificate and go to college. We are talking about people in some cases coming from different cultures and where language assistance and support is a key issue within colleges. We are talking about people coming from unemployment who will have specific needs arising from the experiences they have. Some of them will bring great strengths and I have already witnessed that with some of my students this term.

Having worked in employment, some of these people bring great knowledge and maturity to the approaches to course materials. This brings on other younger members of the class because they have role models with more mature students whom they see valuing their education in a more focused way. That can lead to an excellent dynamic within the classroom setting. It is important to recognise that although we are in an economic downturn, there are many factors competing for students' attention, including part-time jobs, socialising and so on. That has not changed and there is a need to promote excellence not just in the delivery of third level, higher and further education and training but also in encouraging appreciation of how important this is. I pay particular tribute to mature students for the leavening effect that they can sometimes have within a classroom scenario. I mean no disrespect to younger students in saying that.

With regard to student support legislation, I have expressed a concern about the way courses are funded or grants are made available to students both in regard to fees and maintenance and support. We are moving towards a more differentiated type of course delivery, with some people coming from other cultures and others coming from employment. There are also people trying to upskill within the jobs that they currently have and who are doing courses as part of their weekly work, although not on a full-time basis. Some people may want to do a module here and there and perhaps progress in a more gradual way towards a qualification.

Will we have a system of student support with regard to fees and general maintenance grants that will support that emerging reality or will we remain stuck in a more old-fashioned model of course support, which will not be relevant to the needs of new kinds of students? I do not ask that question in an accusatory way and I genuinely seek more information on it. Student support legislation was coming down the tracks and I believe it remains there, unless I was out sick for six weeks and it was passed at that stage. What will happen with the legislation?

Is it the Government's intention to provide for a more differentiated kind of course funding to facilitate those students who are coming at third level or further education and training from different backgrounds, including part-time work and partial completion of course goals and requirements? This may not happen according to the traditional two, three or four-year models we have experienced. Even if we did not have a jobs crisis we would still need to make the transition from the school or college-based model to a kind of person-centred model of further education and training delivery which would focus on the specific needs of people coming from different backgrounds.

In the past in Ireland, the Aosdána, the people of art, were a tiny part of the population but in future these people will form the majority. The advent of the knowledge society demands that education and lifelong learning be almost as accessible as fast food, although I hope it would be more healthy. I also hope we would aim for a wisdom society rather than just a knowledge society in what would be an holistic approach to education taking in the dignity of the person and the needs of the individual.

The truth is that Ireland is far behind its competitors. The report, Education at a Glance 2008, found that the ratio of hours spent in job related training and workplace initiatives in Ireland was just 12% compared with the OECD average of 25%, suggesting that participation in education and learning was far lower in Ireland than in other developed countries. The heart of the knowledge economy is not made up of institutions or technology but the skills and experience of our people, and these skills must be constantly refreshed to cope with a rapidly changing business and technical environment.

Lifelong learning is not just about fulfilling the economic needs of the nation. It also has a role to play in tackling social exclusion. Many young people, especially in our inner cities, do not have the interest or the motivation - this is relevant to what I stated earlier about third level education - to succeed in schools when they are young. However, as they mature such people regret not making better use of their time in school. They have often gained maturity to really benefit from education.

The success of mature students in universities is clear proof of the value of second-chance education. Everybody deserves that second chance and investing in education for the disadvantaged is a very good investment. It costs more to keep a person in prison for one year than it does to educate a young person to degree level. Even Colm McCarthy would approve of that business case.

Lifelong learning is not just an economic imperative and we can see it as a basic human right to which all of us should respond. The Government should respond to it in a targeted and intelligent way. One schooler made a memorable quote in saying: "The purpose of learning is growth and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live." I urge the Government to be serious and ensure we put in place a real infrastructure for lifelong learning. We must create not just a smart economy but a smart society. In so doing we will create a wisdom society.