Further and Higher Education
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-05
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Kieran O'Donnell (FG), Limerick City

I thank Deputy Callaghan. It is a programme for Government commitment, which is as strong a commitment as we can get, to explore the creation of a national centre of excellence for traditional skills. A task force has been established and it has commissioned work. There will be a report from the Heritage Council to the Government in respect of the work of the task force later this year. By way of interest, one of the items of work the task force completed was a survey of skills by RED C. It indicated very strong public support for traditional skills, with 91% of people saying traditional skills should be preserved and 88% people saying they should be taught in schools. In 2024, Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board made an application to SOLAS to develop a national centre for traditional building skills.
In February 2026, the Minister for further and higher education announced that the board would be in a position to appoint a design team for the centre later this year.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:44+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-05