Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I join with colleagues in welcoming the news from Apple that it is to set up a new facility in Athenry not too far from the village of Craughwell in Galway - a well-named village. I am sure that the new impetus in the quest to drive industry to the west is in no way attributable to my colleagues, the Independent Deputies from that area. I am sure the Government side will forgive me for saying that.

I seek a debate on the role the further education sector has in driving this type of industry. Prior to coming to this House I was involved for some 20 years in developing further education courses and spent some time as a member of an international committee on information technology training, CompTia. One of the huge problems in providing courses to meet the demands of ever-changing technology is the cost involved in putting infrastructure in place. For example, the creation of a simple cloud computing course for 25 or more students can cost approximately €150,000 for the hardware alone. Then there is the cost of providing in-service training for the teachers who will deliver those courses and time is also an issue. Ireland is uniquely placed, because of our climate, to develop a whole range of services in the cloud industry and to support cloud industries. To be fair to the IDA and the Government, the news about Athenry is a great achievement for Galway and the west but if we are to continue to develop this industry we need to put in place the requisite second tier education facilities. We have a lot for which to thank GMIT and NUIG in the matter of bringing Apple to Galway but there needs to be a second tier of education and that will be provided by the SOLAS-funded further education sector. I would like a debate at some stage in the near future on the development of further education as a separate, distinct tier within the Irish education system.