Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

County Roscommon has no provision for an apprenticeship sector. In the space of three years, the Minister's new Department, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, has led on significant achievements. We can see landmark changes, with a new funding agency for research and innovation and the Minister's focus on apprenticeships. At a recent meeting of the education committee, an official referred to 26,000 people doing apprenticeships here in Ireland. We need to see access to apprenticeship programmes for people in towns and villages across Ireland. School leavers or career changers could take up to any of 70 courses that are currently on offer, including in auctioneering, biomedicine and farm management, as well as in traditional crafts and trades. There is such demand. Anyone you speak to will say he or she cannot find tradespeople, including carpenters and electricians. We have really long waiting times in Roscommon for retrofitting and the warmer homes scheme.

Students here can do courses at National Framework of Qualifications levels 5 or 6 and proceed to degree or postgraduate levels, bringing employment and jobs to local areas. Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board, GRETB, has submitted a proposal to purchase a two-and-a-half-acre site in the heart of Roscommon town. It has submitted this to SOLAS, the national agency managing further education and training. It is a fantastic site in the middle of the town, close to the main street and with bus and train access. There is potential for four to five workshops. This is an incredible opportunity to deliver world-class apprenticeship training centres in County Roscommon. It takes in a large catchment area, including surrounding counties. The centre could link with businesses and enterprises in the local area, increasing the potential of Roscommon as a location for enterprise and creating local employment. It could link with the universities, including the Technological University of the Shannon, Athlone. There is a gap in apprenticeships in County Roscommon. We need to see investment in this region. I look forward to working with the Minister to progress this project.