Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that over the course of 2023, Cavan Monaghan ETB (CMETB) were supported by SOLAS in developing their Preliminary Business Case (PBC) proposal for Cavan town under the FET College of the Future Major Projects fund. The development of a robust PBC is fundamental to the requirements of the Infrastructure Guidelines.

CMETB submitted their business case for their FET College of the Future major project to SOLAS in January of this year, and as part of this business case, CMETB have undertaken significant work in developing a proposal that outlines the infrastructure needs for their region.

The Cavan town proposal is one of twelve FET College of the Future major project proposals that are now being considered by SOLAS and my Department under criteria such as value for money, affordability, strategic policy and priority alignment. These business cases will also need to be evaluated in line with the requirements of the infrastructure guidelines.

SOLAS will work closely with relevant ETBs including CMETB in progressing their FET College of the Future Major Project fund proposals to achieve the development of required infrastructure that meet the needs of their FET learners. I will be meeting Solas this week to be briefed on the next steps.

To address interim accommodation needs, I approved the acquisition and fit out of a substantial modular unit for CMETB at a cost of €5.8m. This facilitated the opening of the new Education and Training Facility for Cavan Institute at CMETB FET Campus in 2023. This facility gives 300 students access to a range of PLC programmes and will allow for the further growth of Cavan Institute to offer state of the art facilities for students and staff.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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45. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 103 of 18 January 2024, the status of the proposed new further education college in Galway city; if the preliminary business case has been completed and submitted to Solas to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8904/24]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that over the course of 2023, Galway Roscommon ETB (GRETB) were supported by SOLAS in developing their Preliminary Business Case (PBC) proposal for their Mervue site in Galway city under the FET College of the Future Major Projects fund. The development of a robust PBC is fundamental to the requirements of the Infrastructure Guidelines.

GRETB submitted their business case for their FET College of the Future major project to SOLAS in January of this year, and as part of this business case, GRETB have undertaken significant work in developing a proposal that outlines the infrastructure needs for their region.

The Galway proposal is one of twelve FET College of the Future major project proposals that are now being considered by SOLAS and my Department under criteria such as value for money, affordability and strategic policy and priority alignment. These business cases will also need to be evaluated in line with the requirements of the infrastructure guidelines.

SOLAS will work closely with relevant ETBs including GRETB in progressing their FET College of the Future Major Project fund proposals to achieve the development of required infrastructure that meet the needs of their FET learners.

Capital investment in the FET Sector remains a key priority for me. In this regard, funding has also being made available for the fit out and refurbishment of the Cambridge building in Mervue to provide extra apprenticeship training workshops and classrooms. This new facility will provide new craft workshops for Electrical, Plumbing, Carpentry & Joinery, Metal Fabrication and Pipefitting, with associated classrooms and flexibility to deliver more FET fulltime/part-time programs in the future.

In addition to this, the Strategic Infrastructure Upgrade Fund (SIUF) TEL Hub project for Mervue is at the early stages of the design phase.