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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 13 Dec 1989

Vol. 394 No. 5

Adjournment Debate. - Cork Regional Technical College.

Deputy Barry gave me notice of his intention to raise on the Adjournment the serious overcrowding in Cork Regional Technical College and the inadequacy of library facilities there. The Deputy has ten minutes and the Minister of State has five minutes to reply.

With the permission of the House I wish to share my time with Deputy Bradford.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Cork Regional Technical College was built in 1974 and very little money has been spent on it since then despite a huge increase in the number of students attending the college.

A letter in 1984 promised a new atrium and library and funding for equipment. The students are concerned about the method by which they have been grant-aided in the past. The number of students increased from 1,227 in 1978 to 3,250 this year, a 56 per cent increase in a ten year period. In all that time no additional study facilities have been provided for the students and there is now a ratio of 17 students for every one place in the library.

I opened the atrium in 1986 and it was intended that it would be available for restaurant facilities and relaxation for the students. However, because of the pressure on library places there is an overflow to the atrium which is very unsatisfactory from the point of view of students who are studying because of the noise from people who are eating and enjoying themselves. It is also unsatisfactory because the number of places available to people who wish to take a meal has been diminished because of the students using the atrium for a purpose for which it was not designed or intended. If this continues it will have a detrimental effect on the quality of the work of the students and, consequently, on the quality of graduate which the college is turning out which, I am sure, neither the House nor the Minister would like to see.

The college was promised that the library would be completed some years ago at a cost of about £7 million but the work has not yet been undertaken. I want to ensure that the best facilities are available to students to enable them to pass very difficult examinations. Even though a grant for equipment was given over the last seven years there is still a great shortage. Much of the original equipment is still in use but it now needs to be replaced. New technology has also become available in the intervening years which should be made available to students, again with the purpose of turning out the best quality students so that they can take advantage of employment which will be available to them in the Common Market in a few years' time.

These points were put to the Minister for Education yesterday in a parliamentary question for written reply. She said:

I am aware of the difficulties that exist in Cork Regional Technical College with regard to library and other facilities. This problem will be addressed within the context of a rolling programme of capacity enhancement and rationalisation to be carried out in all the regional technical colleges from 1990 onwards on a priority basis.

Setting aside the jargon, it seems that there is not much intention of doing anything about the overcrowded conditions in Cork Regional Technical College in the next financial year. However, there is still time for the Minister to include it and to set the wheels in motion to allow the construction of extra library facilities to give students a chance to graduate from a college that is properly equipped.

I thank my colleague, Deputy Barry, for giving me the opportunity to speak on the Adjournment debate. Like Deputy Barry, I was disappointed with the Minister's written reply to yesterday's parliamentary question because, having met the people concerned and seen the lack of facilities, I am acutely aware of the major problems experienced by students in Cork RTC. I fully support the case they have presented to the Minister and her Department and they deserve an immediate response.

Deputy Barry summed up the argument well; while student numbers have increased by almost 60 per cent from its opening to the present day, the budget for equipment facilities has been reduced by almost 50 per cent since 1982. One does not need to be a student of the college to know that that equation does not add up. There are 17 students for every library place, which is most unsatisfactory. The fact that facilities are totally inadequate will make it very difficult for any Minister to ensure that further college places can be made available.

While we were all pleased to hear that extra college places will be available over the next number of years those of us in Cork who know the situation are asking where the students will go because there certainly is no room at Cork RTC. The work done in Cork RTC over the past ten years speaks for itself and people who are concerned about education and the future of Ireland after 1992 strongly advocate that extra places and facilities be made available to regional technical colleges.

The facilities in Cork are not good enough for the students and we cannot even begin to think of extra places until the students at present attending the college have the facilities to which they are entitled. As a result of changes in EC policy from January next the grant-aid limit for mature students will be increased which means that extra students will be attending college.

Another problem is that the increased number of students attending secondary schools during the early eighties will now automatically be transferred to third level colleges. Automatically this will lead to a greater number of students seeking places. If the present scenario obtains at Cork RTC the necessary facilities will not be available there. The students' union produced an interesting document which I am sure was made available to both the Minister and her Minister of State. They met most Cork Deputies in recent weeks and presented a very genuine case. Anybody interested in ensuring that Ireland of the nineties has an adequately educated population must strive to ensure that extra facilities and finance are made available to colleges such as the Cork RTC.

I hope the Minister of State will give us some good news to take back to Cork.

I am aware of the difficulties which exist in Cork RTC in regard to the library facilities. I accept that the increased demand for third-level places generally has strained facilities in all RTCs.

I thank the two Deputies for the very reasonable case they made in respect of the Cork RTC this evening. I cannot disagree with anything they have said. It is my intention that the limited funds available will be spent in such a manner as to alleviate the most serious accommodation deficiencies and that the allocation of such resources between the various colleges will be as fair as possible. I welcome the presence of Senator Batt O'Keeffe in the House this evening. More than anybody else he has consistently brought this problem to the attention of the Minister and myself, he being a member of the staff of Cork Regional Technical College.

I recently asked the officials of my Department to initiate an analysis of accommodation and its ulitisation in all the Cork Regional Technical Colleges and in some of the other colleges also. This analysis will form the basis of further discussion with the college authorities, enabling current needs and priorities to be established. Questionnaires were issued to each college principal in mid-November to which replies are awaited. To date one response only has been received but it is expected that others will be forwarded shortly.

Deputy Barry referred to jargon on the part of the Minister in the form of a reply she gave the House yesterday. I must refute that allegation. The Minister is particularly committed to the provision of accommodation which we accept is urgently needed in Cork RTC. Indeed she has taken a keen interest in the progress of that college and their very good results. Far be it from me to score a political point here against any Opposition Deputies but one major problem has emanated from the fact that, over a four year period of the last Coalition Government, absolutely no planning took place with regard to the provision of extra facilities for Cork Regional Technical College.

I do not like to interrupt the Minister but that is not true and he knows it. The plans are in the Minister's Department.

Let us hear the Minister's reply. The time available to him is extremely limited. He ought be allowed continue without having his time wasted by interruptions.

But I do not think——

Please, Deputy Barry, I must ask you to desist. The Deputy made his contribution devoid of any interruption. The Minister must be allowed the same courtesy.

I am aware of the fact that Deputy Barry would find it difficult——

The Minister's reply is not as reasonable as I might expect.

I am aware that Deputy Barry would find it difficult to accept the facts. Nonetheless the facts are that absolutely no development took place in the Cork Regional Technical College in the period during which his party were in Government.

That is just not true because I opened an extension there myself.

Deputy Barry must desist from interrupting.

It is as a result of that lack of progress and of any significant planning that the difficulties now being experienced arose.

I want to assure the House that, having made provision in the capital Estimates for the Department for 1990, the Minister has made finance available for a programme of accommodation improvement and of rationalisation. On the establishment of priorities this programme will be carried out in the regional technical colleges generally. The question of library facilities for Cork RTC will be addressed in that context.

I want to assure the House that the case which has been more than adequately made by Deputies from all sides of the House in regard to Cork RTC will be addressed by the Minister and within the context of her examination of the overall facilities, the improvement of those in the Cork RTC will feature in a significant way.

Deputy Rabbitte gave me notice of his intention to raise on the Adjournment the subject matter of the provision of a school at Castleview, Tallaght. The Deputy has some ten minutes to present his case and the Minister five minutes to reply.

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