Vol. 424 No. 2
47 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Education the way in which he proposes to ensure that the Tallaght regional technical college will have a regional impact in south-west Dublin; and whether linkages, as outlined under the Programme for Economic and SocialProgress, will be established in the local second-level schools.
RTC Tallaght serves the greater Dublin area, particularly south and west Dublin, along with parts of Counties Wicklow, Kildare and Meath.
The college has already commenced to serve the region. Over 1,000 students have enrolled on its range of full and part time courses in Engineering, Science, Computing and Business. The students are following career focused courses leading to NCEA, CERT and professional institute recognition. Of the 650 full-time students, over 50 per cent are drawn from areas surrounding the college —the Dublin postal districts 12, 16, 20, 22 and 24.
College staff are in the process of establishing links with schools in the region, especially in the less advantaged areas. The college sought and I was pleased to sanction the appointment at senior level of the individual whose role is to manage and foster such links with the community.
The college encourages applications from students with disability and from mature students who may not meet the normal entry requirements.
