Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Springboard is a tremendous initiative. I am somewhat concerned at having to be so complimentary to the Government, but it is indeed an excellent programme. The Leader is right that those who scoff at these schemes should tell us what alternatives they would offer. I do not accept the notion that the purpose of the scheme is to massage the unemployment figures or anything else.

Senator Feargal Quinn referred to language skills. I was in Finland the week before last as part of a delegation and, in the course of my visit, was shown around a primary school by a 12 year old boy. Half way up the stairs he said to me: "I'm terribly sorry, Senator. Could you tell me how Ireland is getting on with the crisis?" When I asked him what crisis he meant, he said he was referring to our economic crisis. I assured him we are doing fine now and he said he was a bit concerned because his country is entering its own economic crisis. I complimented his English and asked whether he also spoke Swedish, it being a dual-language school. He said he did as well as Russian and German, although his German was not too good. This was a 12 year old. We must do more to improve the take-up of language learning.

There is a need for joined-up thinking if we are to tackle these issues. One of the finest schools of catering this country has ever had, which is located in Killybegs, is to be closed and moved back into Letterkenny IT. This move could well see its reputation going down the toilet. A cash consideration drove that decision and it is simply not good enough. The Irish Hotels Federation would be capable of supplying students to that school all winter long and placing them in work during the summer.

There is an overemphasis on outputs when discussing education issues, which is worrying. Having spent the past 20 years of my life in the further education sector, I am aware of the view among those working in it that SOLAS is not there to assist them but to kill them. That is the vibe one gets and it is a bad one. At a recent meeting of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals, there was a discussion about apprenticeships and the submissions made by various organisations on that subject. The further education sector was responsible for only 14% of the submissions made to SOLAS. I have seen at first hand the level of innovation in the sector and I do not accept it was only capable of producing 14% of the submissions. Some 33,000 or 34,000 students are in further education.