For the purpose of education and training, the Naval Service currently avails of courses at the following institutions: NUI Galway, Dublin Institute of Technology, Cork Institute of Technology and FÁS. Certain specialist courses are also attended from time to time by the Naval Service at British Royal Navy colleges. In addition, courses are provided by the Garda Síochána and Customs and Excise officers in respect of drugs interdiction.
Attendance at educational courses by Naval Service personnel is kept under constant review so that the best possible opportunities in terms of education and training are made available to members of the service. On the question of interaction with educational establishments, a naval officer delivers a number of lectures on fishery conservation and protection at NUI Cork on an annual basis at the request of that college.
The Cork Institute of Technology — CIT — commissioned a study by consultants, Deloitte and Touche, some time ago concerning the possible establishment of a joint Naval Service/CIT national maritime college to be located on a site owned by my Department adjacent to the naval base in Haulbowline. The question of the provision of such a college is a matter for the Department of Education and Science in the first instance. This proposal has most recently been considered, along with a range of other issues, by the ministerial task force on seafarer training and employment, which was established in February of this year by the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources. The task force, which includes a representative from the Department of Education and Science, has submitted an interim report and is due to submit a final report shortly. My Department will consider whatever recommendations emerge from the work of the task force in so far as they might relate to the establishment of a national maritime college as proposed.