Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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801. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware of the difficulties presented to lone parents in rural Donegal who wish to avail of education and training opportunities, but who are encountering the high cost of travelling from rural areas to centres of interest; the reduced availability of places covered by the training and employment child care scheme, and other child care programmes, due to the lone parent's location, and the lack of available broadband or a sufficient internet connection for online training; her plans to introduce an education policy specific to rural Ireland to address issues of equal access to education and training opportunities for persons living in more remote parts of the country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28873/15]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Further education and training programmes are available locally throughout the country. Participants on programmes such as the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme and Youthreach and programmes provided through the network of ETB Training Centres are paid travel allowances towards the cost of travel to courses and they are also entitled to childcare support under the Childcare in Education and Training scheme (CETs) which is administered by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

SOLAS, the new Further Education and Training Authority, recently published the Further Education and Training (FET) Strategy 2014-2019. This strategy is intended to give direction to, and guide transformation of, the further education and training sector for the next five years. It provides an overarching framework within which outcomes based funding and planning based on robust evidence reflect learner and enterprise needs, including the needs of current and future priority groups, including lone parents.

One of the keys goals of the FET Strategy is to support active inclusion of citizens in society. This involves supporting citizens, including those experiencing barriers to the labour market to fully participate in society, to access a range of quality services including education and training and to have a job. The FET sector will seek to increase levels of active inclusion through the provision of high quality, more accessible and flexible education and training programmes and supports suited to the identified needs of the individual. SOLAS will be carrying out research into the barriers to participation in FET to inform the development of appropriate interventions and specific supports.