I thank the Deputy for her question. I am pleased to say this is my first opportunity to respond to an oral question. I am also pleased that it relates to Dunboyne College, which I know. I am familiar with the great work that is happening there. Louth and Meath ETB, LMETB, is being supported by SOLAS in developing its preliminary business case, PBC, proposal for Dunboyne under the FET college of the future major projects fund and they have met as recently as this month to progress the application. The proposal put …

I will begin with a comment. The Deputy spoke about a one-stage process. Whether it is a phased development or a one-stage development is a matter for the evaluation panel. The proposal is to develop fit-for-purpose accommodation on a greenfield site in Dunboyne. As the Deputy said, the college is currently located in poor accommodation in a large number of rental premises in an industrial estate. LMETB submitted its preliminary business case for evaluation in September 2024 and that needed to be refined. It submit…

I hear what the Deputy is saying and I know that what she is talking about is a ring-fenced, purpose-built building. I know the envelope that is available is available to all of the 12 different colleges that are looking for this funding. All have been approved and they just have to get through this preliminary stage. I know Dunboyne is working very hard with LMETB. Without being certain about this, I would be confident that, within the next short period of time, we will get to a point where its application can be …

The further education and training system is central to the delivery of skills across the country to boost national competitiveness and support inclusion. The Further Education and Training Act 2013 requires SOLAS to prepare a strategy for the provision of further education and training and submit it to the Minister for approval. SOLAS, in partnership with the Department, is progressing the development of the next strategy under these provisions, ensuring that it fully aligns with departmental and Government priori…

As background to the strategy, its implementation resulted in significant progress between 2014 and 2019 in the development of the FET sector within the overall education landscape. Of course, we are now looking to the future. The second strategy, which covered the perios 2020 to 2024, set out the role of FET in a more collaborative and cohesive tertiary education system for Ireland. We are now looking at the 2025-29 strategy, the third strategy. In developing this strategy, there is an acknowledgement that the FET…

It is very good news that Galway was one of two colleges given approval to proceed to the next step under the FET college of the future major projects fund. A total of 12 colleges have been earmarked and eight of them are progressing now. The Minister announced earlier this week that Galway was one of those eight colleges. Of course, the other four are on stream. Returning to the Deputy's contribution, it is important to say when we talk about this new FET strategy that it will endeavour to respond to the OECD skil…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important question. My Department is actively progressing measures to expand training capacity in modern methods of construction, MMC, nationwide. We have quantified that using MMC could lead to a reduction of almost 10,000 in the number of additional workers required to meet domestic building and retrofitting targets to 2030, which is highly significant. Existing training capacity is being expanded through partners including SOLAS, Laois-Offaly Education and Training Board and S…

I thank Senators Scahill and Boyle for raising this important matter here today concerning the availability of dental hygienist training places in Ireland. I acknowledge what Senator Scahill said. I represent the constituency of Sligo-Leitrim, which is sandwiched between Roscommon, where Senator Scahill is from, and Donegal, where Senator Boyle is from. I also represent south Donegal, of course. Senator Scahill said I would not let them down, so no pressure. The Government is firmly committed to ensuring our health…

I hear what the Senator is saying but it is my understanding that the Department of Health is currently conducting a scoping exercise and skills assessment across the oral healthcare sector, which specifically includes dental hygienists. This will form the foundation for future policy and programme development. As part of this broader review, the Dental Council has submitted revised scopes of practice that propose expanding the role of dental hygienists. If adopted, this would require corresponding updates to curre…

I thank Senator Gallagher. First, I want to express my condolences and those of the Government to all of the families whose loved ones were killed and to all those who were injured and maimed on that awful day of 17 May 1974. I am old enough to remember it well. It is utterly incomprehensible and heartbreaking that on a day almost 51 years ago so many innocent people going about their daily lives, perhaps going to work, shopping, meeting friends, walking in the city, taking the train or whatever, were callously and…

I mentioned the Barron and MacEntee inquiries. It is important to note that when a legal issue arose that would have prevented the provision of Garda material to Operation Denton, the then Minister for Justice took extraordinary steps to put in place a bespoke mechanism to allow relevant information from An Garda Síochána to be shared with Operation Denton. Of course, the investigation into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings remains an open case in this jurisdiction. Any new evidence that comes to light, from whateve…

I thank Senator Boyle for the question. I am familiar with the area he spoke about. I had the privilege of representing Donegal for three terms in the European Parliament so I well know where Dunkineely is. The Minister for Transport is the person who has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding relating to the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland under the Roads Acts and in line with the national development plan, the planni…

I thank the Senator. To be honest, I share his frustration. As he said at the beginning, we are talking about children, parents, grandparents, teachers and all in the vicinity who use the school. I am conscious of the importance of ensuring road safety, particularly in the vicinity of schools, but there is an ongoing process. As I am not a Minister responsible for this, I cannot say whether this can be speeded up or what could be done. If the Senator wants to contact me afterwards, I would certainly be willing to c…

I am really happy to be able to participate in this discussion. This is my first contribution on the floor of this House since being appointed junior Minister with special responsibility for further education, apprenticeship, construction and climate skills. In opening the debate, the Minister, Deputy Lawless, spoke of the importance not just of the higher education system but also of the further education and training system in helping to secure the economic social and cultural development of our country. Just for…

I thank the Senator for raising the important matter of the proposed new campus for SETU in Wexford. As he is aware, the current SETU campus in Wexford is not suitable as a transformational learning and development environment. The university has been working on a proposal to provide fit-for-purpose infrastructure that both learners and staff at Wexford can be proud of. This proposal aims to provide a campus that will feature state-of-the-art teaching spaces, facilitating the delivery of SETU's education and traini…

I thank the Senator for providing me with the opportunity to set out the position of this project for the south east. I heard what he said about the figures regarding educational access and the need to improve that in the south east. My Department and I are supportive of the need to work collaboratively with the SETU via the HEA to advance this project. Capital investment is a key priority for my Department and I recognise the importance of developing, enhancing and supporting the new TU sector to allow it to provi…

I thank the Senator. It is my first time to address the Seanad and that I am extremely grateful for this opportunity. I hear what the Senator said. I hear the passion in her voice and her commitment to this issue. As she said, Ireland is strongly committed to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. We should and do take pride in the fact the text of that convention was agreed at a diplomatic conference chaired by Ireland in Dublin in 2008. We fully recognise the value of the convention. Since the convention was adopte…

I thank Senator Higgins again. I can hear her passion and her belief, and that matters. What I can say on behalf of the Government is that Ireland's support for the Convention on Cluster Munitions remains steadfast. As I have said, Ireland is committing to further the universalisation and implementation of the convention. We will remain a strong advocate for the aims of a convention that seeks to prevent the use of such indiscriminate weapons, which have reverberating and long-lasting negative effects. We fully agr…

I thank the Senator for her question. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important topic on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I would like to clarify that the Minister has responsibility for policy and overall funding of public transport but neither he nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. The NTA has responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services provided under PSO contracts. That said, the Gover…

I did not intend it, but I allowed the Senator the opportunity to say the most important thing, which is that it will not go by April before these changes are made. The Minister for Transport fully acknowledges the frustrations of commuters who have been impacted by the delays in the roll-out of phase 2 of fare determination. When it is implemented, it will involve the introduction of new Dublin city and Dublin commuter zones, a significant reduction in Leap card multimodal caps and the introduction of Leap travel …