Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I apologise that I missed his opening statement as I had to attend another meeting. Most of the points I wanted to raise have been mentioned by other speakers. It goes to show there is a common theme and the Minister is very much aware at this stage of the key focus for people. It is hard to believe the Ministry is a mere five years old. When we consider the concerns and issues raised by colleagues and the size of the Minister's workload, on which I compliment him, it is hard to believe his Department did not exist five years ago. It is even harder to believe that when it was established five years ago, the commentary was that we were only creating jobs for the boys with another Ministry. Sometimes, we must try to see the woods from the trees. This is such an important sector that I do not know how we got so far without having a dedicated Minister.

We are covering a lot to do with apprenticeships at the higher education committee at the moment. Therefore, there is no point in my duplicating that discussion here today.

I compliment the Minister on the €500 reduction in third level fees. There was a muddying of the waters as to the permanent nature of that reduction. It is not a temporary measure; that €500 cost is gone for good and it is the beginning of much more to come. Fair play him. He got a hard time over it but he stood tall. He came out the other side and is on the right road now. I compliment him on that and on the extension of the income thresholds for the SUSI grant. The commentary is about the squeezed middle and the people who got nothing in the budget. However, that extension is worth a lot to many families, perhaps not this year but, if they have a leaving certificate student in the family, they will gain from it next year. I am not here to clap the Minister on the back but it is important to acknowledge he is going in the right direction. Of course, there is a lot more to be done.

This really will sound like I am here to clap him on the back but I also welcome his initiative on the National Training Fund by way of the National Training Fund (Amendment) Bill 2025. For too long, that money was just left to accumulate. The Minister has taken the initiative and has plans for it. The Bill is currently on Committee Stage in the Dáil. When it comes to this House, we will not be found wanting in engaging with it. It is vital that the Bill is brought over the line and that the Minister gets his hands on the money and can start investing it. It must be invested in infrastructure within the higher education system. My colleague Senator Dee Ryan and I met with representatives of the universities on these issues. Technology and science have evolved so fast that third level institutions are left with laboratories and technical facilities that are outdated. There must be a massive input into the infrastructure. Before even discussing building student accommodation or new premises, there is a lot of infrastructure that needs upgrading. Artificial intelligence will play a massive role in education as we go forward. A massive capital investment is needed in the technology that will be required by the entire sector. I welcome that the Minister is freeing up the NTF. I hope it will be put to the very best uses to maximise the resources it can provide.

I have previously mentioned something that is a bit of a bugbear of mine. We talk about accommodation, transport costs and fees. The Minister needs to pull heads together to look at timetabling. I know families who are to the pin of their collar paying for four years of accommodation and fees. When the timetable comes out in October, their son or daughter has something like one lecture on a Monday, two on a Tuesday, none on a Wednesday, one on a Thursday and four on a Friday. There are four-year courses that are being dragged out to take four years. That is for the financial gain of the institution and it is the families paying for it. Let us consider the saving to a family if a student could do a four-year course in three years. That is a 25% saving on accommodation, transport and fees. It is quite doable.

That point was hammered home for me at the weekend when I read about a lecturer giving one lecture a week and being paid €175,000. I recognise that institutions may be contractually tied into an arrangement for previous employment but reading that hammered home the issue. The Minister needs to put a group together to examine this matter. It is so frustrating for parents to pay out for accommodation for their son or daughter 100 miles away, whether in Limerick, Galway or wherever, only to telephone their child and hear he or she had only one lecture that day. It is costing parents a fortune to have their child going to one lecture, then going into town and visiting the library. This situation can be changed. The duration of many courses could be reduced by 25%. If that were to happen, it would be a massive game-changer when it comes to the affordability of third level for the families involved.