Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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2737. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the supports that are being provided to DDL-ETB to develop flagship FET colleges of scale; the way in which these developments align with national targets for lifelong learning and skills development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47306/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Dublin and Dún Laoghaire ETB (DDLETB) are currently being supported by SOLAS in developing their Preliminary Business Case (PBC) for a state-of-the-art further education campus in Swords under the FET College of the Future Major Projects fund.

As part of the PBC stage, DDLETB will need to further develop their proposal and demonstrate its alignment with relevant regional and national policies and strategies. Once complete, the ETB can submit their proposal to SOLAS for evaluation. The development of a robust PBC is fundamental to the requirements of the Infrastructure Guidelines.

The site preference for this new college is Swords due to its population base and future growth projections. In this respect, officials from my department and SOLAS have also been engaging with Local Authority and ETB officials to review site options to progress this matter and this is ongoing.

SOLAS and officials from my department will continue to support DDLETB in the development of their proposal and I remain committed to ensuring there is appropriate infrastructure in place to meet the needs of FET learners and teaching staff.

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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2738. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to outline the way in which DDL-ETB is being supported to make FET an attractive pathway for school leavers, particularly in areas with high youth unemployment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47307/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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My officials have contacted DDLETB, and it advised that it offers a wide range of programmes supporting both school leavers and early school leavers. These programmes are tailored to meet the needs of young learners and help them progress to further education, training, or employment, by making optimal use of available funding and resources.

Programme categories include:

• Post Leaving Certificate (PLC).
• Pre-Apprenticeship.
• Traineeship.
• Apprenticeship (Craft & Consortia Led).
• Justice Workshops.
• Early School Leavers (Youthreach & Community Training Centres).
• FET Pathways from School.

• FET Pathways Events at Training Centres.
• iVET (a TY-focused school-linked apprenticeship programme).
• TY Skills Sampling (a week-long exposure to various courses).
• Information sessions and centre tours for Youthreach and CTC learners.
• Pre-apprenticeship skills sampling with modules like Construction Site Readyand Safe Pass.