Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister, Deputy Harris, to the House.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach's office for choosing this Commencement matter for debate this morning. I welcome the Minister, Deputy Harris, to the Chamber. As he will know, Galway Technical Institute's current provision is inadequate and would present challenges for any redevelopment it would need, including an underground car park. It has outgrown its current buildings and requires major refurbishment along with additional teacher spaces. It currently has rental accommodation and a number of dilapidated prefabricated classrooms on site which are no longer fit for purpose. The site is also an irregular shape and would require decamping for the duration of any construction work.

The proposal by Galway Roscommon Education and Training Board, GRETB, is to build a new state-of-the-art further education and training campus of approximately 20,000 m2. The proposed site would be on the grounds of the Galway Community College which would be 3 ha of land exiting onto the Tuam Road. An aerial shot of Galway will show a campus with plenty of space and room for further expansion. The rationale behind the new building is that it would provide a modern future-proofed building located on a site with capacity for further expansion. It would highlight and reflect the high level of education and training provided by GTI and GRETB. It would facilitate world-class technical and further education and training programmes which would ensure that learners would meet their full potential. It would have a flexible design approach to meet future demand and changing requirements.

As the Minister knows, the GTI's current programme includes art and design; arts; health and social care; business and law; fashion; hairdressing and beauty; IT and computing; media; sport; technology design and engineering. The new college would facilitate the consolidation of current GRETB post-leaving cert, PLC, courses and increase places for all current programmes being offered. It would provide further links with third level colleges. It would involve the creation of additional traineeships and over 2,000 apprenticeships and programmes in areas such as culinary arts, agriculture and horticulture. It would allow courses to be developed for the green economy, which is obviously a growing area, including: green procurement; heat pump technology; photovoltaic, PV, cells; energy management; heat recovery; and ventilation systems. It would enable the development of an elite football professional development course, the addition of animation programmes, development of the Erasmus+ programme and innovation hubs.

I think the Minister will agree this is an exciting proposition for further and higher education in Galway. I hope that the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science will be able to support the application. The GRETB has an application with the Department for a further education and training, FET, college of the future. It has submitted the funding request for construction of this new FET college of the future as part of the SOLAS and Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science capital application process, which I know is now with the Department.

Tá sé beartaithe ag an mBord Oideachais agus Oiliúna na Gaillimhe agus Ros Comáin campas nua breisoideachais agus oiliúna den chineál is nua-aimsearthaí a thógáil ar iarthar láthair Choláiste Pobail na Gaillimhe i gcathair na Gaillimhe. Tá iarratas ar maoiniú curtha isteach ag Bord Oideachais agus Oiliúna na Gaillimhe agus Ros Comáin chun an choláiste nua breisoideachais agus oiliúna don todhchaí a thógáil. Tá an t-iarratas sin leis an Roinn.

This is an exciting proposal for Galway city and county. We know the valuable work that the Galway Technical Institute does in providing those options for people outside the traditional third level approach. Sometimes it is a gateway to third level but more often it leads to a career in areas where people are badly needed. The existing facilities are not fit for purpose. This is an exciting proposal for a development within the heart of the city. In conjunction with the existing campus, it would allow for further expansion. It is proximate to the Atlantic Technological University and the University of Galway. I believe the project is worthy of investment and I ask the Minister to support it.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank my colleague, Senator Kyne, for raising this important matter in respect of GRETB's plans for a new and enlarged further education and training campus in Galway city. I echo the Senator's views. This is an extremely exciting proposition because I understand what GRETB wants to do is to build a brand new college of further education, what we call a further education and training, FET, college of the future. This will enable capacity in further education in Galway to be increased by approximately 40% and, as the Senator has rightly said, will also enable a very significant increase in apprenticeship spaces, which is something we are really putting a focus on. Most excitingly, it will enable very good links to be established between the Atlantic Technological University, ATU, further education and training in Galway and what we now call the University of Galway because the site that has been chosen in Mervue is adjacent to the ATU and in very close proximity to the University of Galway. I also take the opportunity today to recognise the pivotal role that GRETB plays in the provision of further education and training right across the western region. It is the second largest ETB in the country and catered for 10,295 learners in 2021.

As the Senator alluded to, earlier this year, I announced our most ambitious new phase of capital investment in our further education sector ever. We intend to spend very serious amounts of public money to put in place the infrastructure for further education and training right across our country. This key investment will support projects that drive reform of the further education and training sector and increase capacity. The establishment of centres of excellence will also be a focus, as will the creation of a unified third level education sector in which FET and higher education work together.

As Senator Kyne rightly said, GRETB submitted an application under the FET college of the future funding programme for the establishment of a new FET college of the future on a site it owns in Galway city. The proposal submitted by GRETB has now been assessed alongside other proposals from the sector to determine which projects will proceed to the next phase of development. The assessment process for this programme consists of two phases. The first phase was led by SOLAS and has been completed. Proposals that have been successful at the first stage will hear news in the coming days. Those proposals will then be assessed in greater depth but, crucially, will be supported by my own Department and SOLAS to ensure they comply with the public spending code.

Any investment made will support an ambitious transformation agenda, realising the full potential of the sector and ensuring that the further education and training sector is no longer the poor relation or Cinderella when it comes to investment in third level education. I am not in a position to make an announcement today but I am in a position to confirm that I will be in Galway with Senator Kyne next week, when an update on this project will be provided and an announcement as to its status will be made. This is a really exciting project for Galway, for the western region and for the creation of a unified tertiary education system.

In 2021, my Department provided funding to GRETB to acquire a building adjacent to its current training centre and FET headquarters in Galway. The development of this new facility will also provide a range of new craft workshops to deliver more full-time and part-time further education programmes in the future. The investment we made last year will lead to an increase in training capacity from approximately 216 apprentices per year to over 400 apprentices per year, with the potential to increase to over 600 apprentices. We are making big investments in Galway already. As can be seen, the number of apprentices continues to increase. I hope my favourable comments this morning provide some reassurance to the Senator of the significance of this application and my level of excitement about it. I will be in Galway with him next week to visit the ETB and I will provide an update at that stage.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for those reassuring words. I compliment him on his work and his support for the very important further education sector with regard to its capital plans. It is important that we have quality learning and quality teaching, as well as quality structures for students and staff alike. I welcome the Minister's announcement of a visit to Galway next week, when we will see facilities and discuss plans with the board and chair of GRETB and with the staff.

This is a very exciting proposal and I am reassured by the Minister's comments and commitments. A positive decision will certainly be very well received in Galway. As I have said, it is an excellent proposal. The site is very suitably located. There is demand in the area and this would provide important choices for school leavers. I look forward to what I hope will be a positive decision and announcement in the coming days.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I look forward to visiting Galway with the Senator next week. I should also acknowledge, as I know the Senator would, the work of Councillor Michael Mogie Maher, who now chairs GRETB and who is enthusiastic about these levels of investment. It is an exciting time for further education and training around the country. We have moved from a situation in which further education and training colleges were applying for money to fix leaky roofs or broken toilets to one in which there is investment at a scale that allows us to progress really transformational projects and move what we know to be an excellent education sector out of old, dilapidated buildings and into modern fit-for-purpose facilities. I compliment and thank everyone in GRETB for the great amount of work they put into this application.

It is also a particularly exciting time for Galway from a third level education point of view. There is the traditional university, now known as the University of Galway. Some great work is being done there and a very significant amount of student accommodation is coming on stream, which I really welcome. I want to work with the university to develop even more. There is also the technological university, the ATU. If this project progresses, there will also be a state-of-the-art further education sector, really knitting together all aspects of third level education in the city and county of Galway. I very much look forward to being with the Senator next week and to trying to make progress on this.

Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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Before we continue to our next speaker, I welcome visitors from Our Lady's College, Greenhills. It is great to see visitors back in the Chamber. We hope that the Minister will be part of their future in setting the parameters and putting funding in place for higher education.