Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. I welcome that he has been in contact with SOLAS, as have we on the committee. In some cases, we were finding at the committee that someone in Donegal was going to Cork and someone from Cork going to Donegal, both doing the same apprenticeship. It just beggars belief how that happens so I welcome the fact that SOLAS will review, and also fix, this. During recent committees, we heard directly from apprentices about the challenges for their placements. The situation is affecting all age…

The only issue there is that they have to accept a placement within seven working days of the notification date. If they start declining, there is a fear that they may not ever get placed on this. It is an absolutely hellish situation out there for student accommodation and there is the fear too that if they do not accept the place they may not get accommodation. This process should ensure fairness for all apprentices. The Minister has said that himself. Is it fair for apprentices, many of whom are paid below minim…

The plans for a business school at UCC have been in development for the past three years, with reports that an architect firm had signed a contract of €3.5 million in 2022. From my understanding, the project was expected to cost over €100 million and was slated to start in 2024. This would have also included the provision to accommodate 4,000 students. The statement from UCC stated the college would provide an update on Cork university business school in the new year. Are we now in a situation where millions of eur…

It is no secret that universities are continuing to deal with chronic underfunding for the best part of 30 years and there does not seem to be any let-up on that front. This means many universities have a heavy reliance on international students, who pay costly fees towards the Irish university sector, and potentially this is a factor in this project not going ahead. According to the Irish Examiner, the UCC business school plan was reliant on the expected income to the business school coming from international stud…

I welcome that there is still ambition for this project. However, ambition is not reality or actual work on the ground. Is the Minister aware of any timeframe for how long the review will take? What happens if we are left with an unfinished site? That site could accommodate 4,000 students. Meanwhile, students continue to struggle to afford extortionate rents in the private market. We are now in a situation wherein the university has paid out millions of euro on a development that is, in effect, abandoned for now, a…

This question is a bit outdated since the rescheduling of the Dáil last week. A recent OECD report on technological universities identified the exclusion of professorships at TU level as a huge shortcoming that should be urgently addressed. The report states the current TU system cannot fully achieve the expectations set out in the Technological Universities Act 2018. I welcome the announcement the Minister recently made that professors will be coming into TUs.

There is a huge issue with parity of esteem within further and higher education and that needed to be addressed. There should not be this distinction between our institutions and those wishing to pursue their education, whether at Trinity College or a TU. The development of technological universities has undoubtedly been a hugely impactful and positive change for higher education, boosting regions that otherwise would not have the opportunities for regional development. The absence of professorships has been a mass…

The potential for massive increases in research and development if professors accounted for 5% of TU staff by 2030 is very significant. This would also increase postgraduate research student numbers and EU Horizon research funding, which could reach €80 million per year. The overall economic impact nationally would be in the region of €2.8 billion. Getting to 5% of TU staff by 2030 would be welcome. Another important focus of the OECD report is on the comparison of various strands of benchmarked institutions with T…

The Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, spoke last week at Shannon Airport and said he would like to see a rail link built to the airport in the future. However, he failed to give any certainty about the project. When asked about the timelines for the project, he was vague and unconvincing. Given the Minister's interest, it was notable that the project was absent from the national development plan review. This project is essential and would greatly boost the future of Shannon Airport, County Clare and t…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “(c) these payments to only relate to training and upskilling and not for any other purpose; these payments to only relate to the construction or reconstruction (not retrofitting) of a premises that is only used for training and educational purposes.”.”. The diversion of a portion of the employer-contributed fund to cover costs typically associated with Exchequer capital expenditure, such as retrofitting or repair of a premises, me…

Should moneys for this purpose not be coming from Exchequer capital expenditure rather than the NTF? As the Minister set out when he spoke on Committee Stage and again today, the NTF is to be used "to raise the skills", "to provide training" and "to provide information". We could very quickly go through that surplus if we were to use it for retrofitting and on buildings. In such circumstances, we could end up with no surplus or not enough for training. A lot of jobs are being lost to artificial intelligence. Those …

In terms of the purchasing of land, I think the amendment should definitely stand. I would be fearful if there is no guarantee preventing a future Minister from changing that to buy buildings for anything other than upskilling and training. It needs to be clear in black and white that that is what the payments are for, so I will press the amendment.

We were told time and time again that this is a 100% redress scheme but it is not. What we see before us again today is evidence of that. The scheme is not fit for purpose and the evidence is there for anyone to look at. Behind every fact, figure and departmental line lies a human story of families who suffer every day. They are families who wonder every time Met Éireann issues a warning if this is the day their house comes down. Do Government Members really believe that €150,000 is enough to rebuild a home in rura…

A number of constituents have raised concerns with me about the CCTV camera system in Shannon Town Park. Despite a number of antisocial behaviour incidents, the cameras are not operational. Under Part 5 of the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Act, which was signed into law in 2023, a code of practice for CCTV was to be drawn up. Almost two years later, however, the code has not been drawn up and Part 5 of the Act has not commenced. Will the Minister for justice, Deputy O’Callaghan, speed up the commencement of Pa…

I commend my colleagues Matt Carthy and Maria McCormack on enabling this vital Bill to be brought here this evening. Their work and the work of the brave campaigners made this happen. I salute the very brave women who made the powerful and difficult step of speaking out. For them, this Bill will come too late but in an unselfish act, they want this Bill to be brought in to protect others so they do not have to go through what they went through. Imagine being a young child, happily playing games dreaming of what you…

Recently, Home and Community Care Ireland, HCCI, published its new report and witness for home and community care throughout the State. Home and Community Care Ireland is an umbrella group for home and community care providers across Ireland. Its report is based on the latest available statistics. The report makes for grim reading, with almost 5,000 people currently waiting for home care, but what is of particular concern for me is that my constituency of Clare has a waiting list of 304, which when calculated per 1…

It is a pity the Minister for Health is not here because, unfortunately, the Minister of State has been left to read out a response which indicates that he has not even heard what I have been saying. The answer he has read suggests that the Department has exceeded targets but we are not seeing that in County Clare. The answer does not tell us what we want to hear. While I thank HCCI for this report, which clearly identifies the problem of waiting lists for home care in various counties, we should not have to rely o…

Mercosur will allow the cheap importation of beef, poultry, pork, sugar and biofuels produced to lower standards than ours. Our Food Safety Authority was established after several high-profile outbreaks and deaths from food-borne illnesses, and its commitment since to openness and transparency has helped us as consumers to look for and demand healthier food. Knowing where our food comes from, its production method and its journey to our tables allows us to make decisions on quality, freshness, nutrition and environ…

I welcome science week as an important moment for children at primary level, further and higher level students and our educators. This is a celebration of the achievements of science and the advances in rapid technological change. Science week promotes STEM and hands-on learning. It also inspires future scientists and creates curiosity in young minds, making science more accessible, and provides a platform to showcase how science can become a subject for young people to take up in their studies. I saw this first-ha…

We all see it every year: the proud photos of our little ones in their school uniforms standing tall and smiling on the first day back. Those bright faces fill our social media feeds but what the photos do not show are the stress, the struggle and the sacrifice of the parents or guardians behind the camera, the sleepless nights worrying about how to afford it all. For far too many families, 54% of them, going to school is not a joyful occasion; it is a financial burden. Some are forced to cut back on essentials, ev…