Vol. 1042 No. 4
74. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the efforts that are being made to expand places in third-level courses for mental healthcare; what assistance is being given by his Department to assist third-level institutions in offering these increased places; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40606/23]
Children's mental health services and mental health services in general in this State are beyond crisis at this point. Successive Governments have failed to implement proper workforce planning and we now face staffing shortages. We need more qualified mental health staff coming through our universities. What efforts are being made to expand places in third level courses for mental healthcare? What is the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science doing to assist third level institutions in offering increased places?
I thank the Deputy for highlighting this important matter. My Department is here to help any part of the public service that needs more people trained in specific areas. That includes veterinarians, as we saw this year, doctors and nurses. We are now doing work on disability services. We stand ready to help any part of the public health service or any Department that wants to put a workforce plan in place. We are here and ready to help. We could more planning in this area.
I will outline what we have done so far. The Department is committed to supporting the health and welfare of the population by ensuring we train enough people to work in the health service. As the Deputy knows, training is only one part but it is a good start. We want to ensure we support a range of clinical teams. Disciplines such as medicine, nursing and a range of allied healthcare professions are, of course, relevant to mental health, as well as our other health and social care disciplines.
In July I announced 460 annual new entrant places in healthcare programmes. We are growing the number of students being able to study healthcare by 460 from this September. Sixty of these places are in medicine. Some of those will go on to specialise in mental health. It is not possible for me to predict at the moment, but increasing the number of undergraduate medicine places helps. A total of 255 places are in nursing of which 49 are specifically in mental health nursing. That was what was sought through the work that was undertaken. In addition, Ulster University and Queen's University Belfast have 200 places in nursing, which also will be of benefit. A further 50 paces are available in therapy disciplines in Ulster University. These places build further on the expansion in the system in recent years, including 135 annual new entrant places in nursing and 60 in medicine in 2022.
Through an expression-of-interest process we asked our third level institutions what more they could do in healthcare.
They have come back with a highly ambitious plan as to how they believe we can grow the numbers of nurses, doctors, therapists and others working in the health service over the next number of years. I am committed to working with the HSE, the Department of Health and the Minister for Health in delivering that programme. I would also welcome any insights the Deputy or others he may talk to have on this issue.
I spent the recess meeting organisations, staff and mental health services right across the State, including in Deputies Griffin and Healy-Rae's area in Kerry, meeting families affected by child and adolescent mental health services. One of the biggest things that came up was about retention of staff working in the mental health service. Social and economic conditions are getting worse and staff retention is a real problem. The Minister mentioned a target of 460 new places in the coming year. If Sinn Féin was in government, we would target an increase of 1,300 healthcare work-related undergraduate places in the next year and there would need to be an increase of at least 50% in this over the coming five years.
The Minister mentioned cross-departmental engagement with the Minister for Health. What conversations were had with the Minister for Health? What is needed to meet the needs of the healthcare services at the moment? As I said, I do not think 460 places will cut it. The 460 additional places are welcome but we need many more.
I do not doubt the Deputy's sincerity about this. I need to say that 460 is not a number that I plucked out of the air. It is what the colleges in Ireland have told us they can do. If the Deputy ever finds himself in my position, all of this is contingent on asking the universities what they can do if we give them more money. The hospitals and others are asking what they can do about clinical places. The answer that they came up with collectively was 460. The benefit of this is that it is 460 extra every year. The cumulative impact of this over a number of years is significant. It is not just 460, though. It is 460 plus the 200 in the North and a further 50 studying therapy in the North. It is well above 700. It is about 720. That is where we are. I am happy to try to do more. That is the honest answer about what the system told us. The issue of retention is key. It is not for me to stray outside my remit but we can train more people, but obviously we then need to try to retain them in the health service. That is a different body of work. I have had many conversations with the Minister for Health and Department of Health. A working group has been set up with my Department and the Department of Health on workforce planning. We regularly meet at an official level to map that out.
I want to address one particular course that has been cancelled this year. The Minister might have notes on it. It is in Question No. 107. I will give the Minister a heads-up on that in case he has it there. The specialist master's degree on children's mental health in Trinity College Dublin has been cancelled this year. This master's degree in children's mental health provided at Trinity is open to people from a range of different backgrounds, including professions that work with children, adolescents and families with mental health issues. It also includes medicine, education, speech and language therapy, psychology and nursing. It is a gateway course into child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS. We have heard reports from CAMHS all summer about how children accessing care in CAMHS are really suffering. This is a time when we need to increase specialist courses. This course has now been cancelled. If this course was around, it would really help to build the vital multidisciplinary teams. What is the Minister doing to reinstate this course? What conversations has he had with the Minister for Health on this?
I thank the Deputy for raising this. I did not think we were going to reach that question in oral questions. I do not have my physical answer to hand but I commit to coming back to the Deputy in writing on this today. At a high level, however, what programmes are provided by universities is an autonomous decision for them. No one wants me deciding what a university should or should not provide. It is an autonomous decision for universities. That is not to say I do not care about this issue. The Deputy is quite right that children's mental health services is an area in need of urgent attention. If there is anything my Department can do to help Trinity College Dublin on that, we will not be found wanting. On foot of the Deputy's question, I will make direct contact with Trinity myself to determine if this was a decision it made and was happy to make or if it was a decision it could overcome if there was a bit of assistance. I will revert to the Deputy later today.
75. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to report on his engagements with the management at SETU in relation to the university-enterprise quarter planned for the Waterford Crystal site; when it can be expected to see detailed capital plans for the development of the site; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40035/23]
I have the South East Technological University's, SETU, strategic plan for 2023 to 2028 in front of me. There are ten individual references in that plan to the enterprise quarter, which was being co-developed on the old Waterford Crystal site, as the Minister knows. What engagements has the Minister had with SETU about the development of that enterprise quarter? When can we expect to see detailed capital plans? It is all well and good to have the physical site available but we need to build on it.
I thank Deputy Ó Cathasaigh for raising this question and for his ongoing engagement with me regarding South East Technological University and indeed the Waterford Crystal site. I hear a little mischief-making now and again. We are absolutely and fully committed to the Waterford Crystal site being purchased by South East Technological University. A huge amount of work has been undertaken by the university since the Deputy and I, and others, were there to announce the decision to acquire that site. I reassure the Deputy and the people of Waterford about that.
On 27 March, as the Deputy knows, my Department gave approval, subject to the required due diligence that has to be carried out, for South East Technological University to expand its presence in Waterford by agreeing to accept the vendor's final reduced asking price for a 20.3 acre portion of a 37 acre Waterford Crystal site. SETU is in the process of conducting that required due diligence on the site. Once that is completed to its satisfaction, it then goes to its governing authority for the formal proposal. Following those governance requirements, it then comes back to the Higher Education Authority and me.
We are excited about this for all the reasons the Deputy says. It is a significant milestone in the development of South East Technological University. Some in Waterford tried to say we would never get a university. We now have one. Some said we would never get the Waterford Crystal site. We now do. The purchase of that site does, and I think this is the nub of the Deputy's questions, provide significant opportunities for the development and creation of a real enterprise quarter in Waterford that will, of course, benefit the university, but in my view, the benefits will go well beyond that. It will provide an opportunity to collaborate with industry and research, to the benefit of the whole city, county and region.
The location of the site and the existing Cork Road campus will enable the university to consolidate much of its Waterford activities into this single city centre location. The purchase of the site also satisfies a number of wider local and regional objectives through the reusing and repurposing of a prominent brownfield site in the city. It brings that old site back into use. This will allow SETU to cater for future student growth and allow the university to be a driver of economic and social development. As the Deputy knows, the process of what goes on the site will need to come from the governing authority of the university. We are not in the business of acquiring sites to leave them idle. Once this is fully acquired, we will be eager to make progress on that.
I thank the Minister. I know he has a very developed understanding of just how totemic and important that site is for telling the tale of Waterford and for the rejuvenation and revitalisation of Waterford. It is extremely important that we see this site signed, sealed and delivered. We will then begin to see serious capital investment flowing on it. We want to see things like student accommodation available on-site within SETU, on the Waterford campus. We have a proven track record of same. It is an interesting proposition to have the private part of the site working in tandem with SETU. I absolutely agree with the Minister about where the site is located in Waterford city. It sits between Ballybeg, Larchville and Lisduggan. We will now bring the site in towards Hennessy's Road, right in towards the centre of the city. It is of critical importance to the city. We need to put an end to that mischief-making, get it over the line, have it signed, sealed and delivered, and move on with what else is in the capital plan.
That is entirely right. I was talking to the South East Technological University team yesterday at the National Ploughing Championships. I know they are extraordinarily eager to advance the issue of student accommodation. I have had excellent conversations with Professor Campbell about that. Waterford is particularly well placed. We want all our technological universities to develop student accommodation. Of course, they have done it before in Waterford. Historically, it was done with the Waterford Institute of Technology project too. Professor Campbell and others will now benefit from the fact that there is a €1 million fund available to prepare student accommodation plans. There is also a standardised design process that the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and I will complete, which brings a lot of sense to planning as well as speed to be able to turn projects around. The next step, from my perspective, is the governing authority meeting in due course to finally approve the proposal, having gone through its due diligence. I will then look to meet South East Technological University. I am happy to meet it with Waterford Deputies to talk about the next steps for the site and how my Department and perhaps other Departments can be helpful in creating that enterprise quarter, which this site provides us with an opportunity to do.
I referred to the fact that it is referenced on ten specific occasions in the strategic plan. Strategic objective 3.1 is to "Establish the new and dynamic University-Enterprise Quarter on the Waterford Crystal site as a focal point for the SE Innovation Region." It is of critical importance. I will cast the net a little wider, since I have the opportunity. Enabler A in the strategic plan is to complete a "masterplan for SETU for the coming two decades and deliver new physical infrastructure to sustain and increase our growth in student numbers and research activity".
It mentions the Waterford Crystal site and the acquisition and proceeding to design and delivery of a 10,000 sq. m academic building. It also references something we have been waiting on for a long time, namely, the engineering building, which will be an ICT general teaching building on the Waterford campus. Section 13.1.7 of the plan refers to an additional 10,000 sq. m to support expansion associated with additional research activity and, critically, section 13.1.8 references the refurbishment of 20,000 sq. m of current infrastructure. That ongoing investment to keep the infrastructure we have fit for purpose is a critical piece of the jigsaw.
I agree. As it is a sensitive moment with regard to that public private partnership, PPP, bundle, I will be limited in what I will say. I expect to be in a position to bring finality and clarity to that very shortly. I know how much the new engineering, computing and general teaching building that is planned for SETU in Waterford has been anticipated for a very long time. I accept there have been very many false dawns over the years but the building will add significant capacity to the campus to help increased demand. It is almost 13,000 sq. m and is the largest of all the projects in that PPP bundle. It is expected to add space for in excess of 1,000 students. I know very well the importance of it. I will keep in touch with the Deputy on that.
I am also very eager to make progress on the existing estate as regards our higher education energy efficiency and decarbonisation pathfinder programme. Two projects at SETU have been approved to advance through that pathfinder programme. These are a deep fabric retrofit to the business school at SETU Waterford and a medium retrofit with a high-temperature, air source heat pump to the Burrin building at SETU Carlow. Both those projects have received approval.
76. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the up-to-date position regarding plans to redevelop the former Pretty Polly plant and site in Killarney, County Kerry, into a further education centre of excellence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40647/23]
The Minister has been a very regular visitor to County Kerry since he came into his role, more than any other Minister. One of the very important visits he paid took place last November when he announced that the former Pretty Polly site in Killarney would be redeveloped as a centre of excellence for further education. Will he update the House on the progress on that project? What are the anticipated timelines?
I answered a question from another Deputy from County Kerry earlier regarding students from Kerry going to Cork for their university education. Of course, that will always happen but I am so proud we can stand here now, as I am sure the Deputy is as a Kerry Deputy, and say that Kerry is now a university county, Tralee is now a university town, and there is a real capacity to do more in Killarney as regards further and higher education, which is at the nub of his question. We have made huge progress on the educational offering in Kerry. I praise MTU, especially MTU Tralee staff, and the leadership of Kerry Education and Training Board, ETB, which has an exceptional team of people working extraordinarily hard, including our colleague, Councillor Jim Finucane, who chairs Kerry ETB with real determination, passion and dedication.
As part of an ambitious new phase of capital investment I launched early last year, I was very happy to be in a position to come to Killarney with the Deputy to announce that the site locally known as the Pretty Polly plant site at Killarney has been chosen as a further education and training, FET, college of the future and a major further education college. I know how important this is for access to education and, from talking to those in the tourism industry and hospitality sector there with the Deputy, to have a pipeline of people in terms of graduates and training programmes.
I am pleased to confirm to the Deputy that the proposal has moved to the next stage of development, which is the full, formal business case and complying with public spending codes. A workshop took place at the end of March with relevant ETB representatives, including Kerry ETB, to advise on how to complete the necessary business case templates and the like. I also met Kerry ETB more recently when I was in Kerry with the Deputy. Since then, SOLAS has worked closely with Kerry ETB during the development phase of its proposal. Kerry ETB is now working to finalise its preliminary case.
I do not have to tell the Deputy this is a very exciting project for Killarney and the wider Kerry region. The Pretty Polly site has not been in use for some time. The ambition is simple: to repurpose and transform it into a state-of-the-art campus that focuses on skills development in hospitality training, while also supporting renewable energy and sustainable green technologies. Kerry ETB has also been successful under the strategic infrastructure upgrade fund for two proposals, including refurbishment and upgrade of the Listowel campus and provision of additional accommodation at its Monavalley campus in Tralee, which I was also delighted to visit with the Deputy.
I thank the Minister for his response, which is very encouraging. It is one of the most exciting projects there has been in the county for a long time. It symbolises rejuvenation and a form of renaissance for what was maybe a symbol of decline and failure, and a new era for Kerry and Killarney in particular. I thank the Minister for the effort he has put in to date and for his commitment to this project. I also thank all the stakeholders who have made a huge effort in getting it to where it is today. It is important that work continues and the thrust that is there will continue into the future because we need to see this come to fruition as soon as possible. It will be very important for the provision of much-needed skills for local industry, especially tourism and hospitality. As the Minister knows, Kerry is the capital of tourism and hospitality in Ireland. We need to have a flow of skilled people able to work in that industry.
I ask the Minister to keep doing everything he can do. I again thank him for his efforts. It is very important to the county.
I am aware of the great pride in tourism in Kerry. If I was not, I was made aware of it at the National Ploughing Championships yesterday, with the Kerry tent and all the people wearing "Come to Kerry" hats. It was quite something but you should come to County Wicklow too. I am very aware of the pride Kerry places in that.
This is a very exciting project. I will be honest. We would not be at this point if it had not been for Kerry Deputies. They have done an amazing job in putting forward projects. We are back in an era of being able to invest a lot in further education and training, but that requires people being able to come forward locally and regionally with good, sensible ideas and proposals. What has been done in this instance is brilliant. A derelict site was spotted that used to be a hive of activity and employment, which is lying derelict and, as the Deputy said, has perhaps been a symbol of decline in Killarney. People there said they could repurpose that site, put it to work for their local industry, provide educational opportunities for people, partner with local businesses, get things moving and give Killarney a presence, from a third level education point of view, that it has not had up until now.
Factually, the next step is that a business case is due by the end of the year. I was very honest when I was in Kerry. These are not small projects but are four- or five-year projects that were only announced a couple of months ago. However, I think we will have a further update by the end of the year that will see a little momentum behind this.
That is great. Of course these things take time. I remember when a bus leaving my parish took predominantly women to work in that Pretty Polly factory in the 1980s and 1990s. A week is a long time in politics but, at the same time, time goes pretty quickly too. It will take time. We have to be realistic but I have no doubt that when this project is completed, it will serve future generations very well, including workers and the overall industry. We make a massive effort across the board and across the community in Kerry in building our brand and keeping it strong. The Minister saw that at the ploughing championships. We are very proud of our county, as the Minister is of Glendalough and all the beautiful places in Wicklow.
We also have many challenges because we are geographically a peripheral county. For us, tourism is proportionately much more important. That is why the provision of skills and the preparation of people, predominantly young people, for a life in tourism and hospitality is very important. That is why this is such a symbolic and important project. It is such a huge part of our economy. I ask the Minister to do everything he can to keep this on the agenda and push it as hard as he can.
I absolutely will. I assure the Deputy of that. Four big things are going on as regards education in Kerry. We have a university, with the Munster Technological University campus in Tralee. We turned the sod on a major new STEM building there only a few months ago, where there are huge opportunities. We also want to see student accommodation developed in Tralee. I spoke to the president, Professor Maggie Cusack, regarding that. The Pretty Polly project is under way in Killarney, which is now a big presence, that will provide training and skills for further education in Killarney in the south of the county. The Listowel campus upgrade and refurbishment project will really modernise that facility, which I was delighted to visit. We also have the provision of additional accommodation at Monavalley campus in Tralee. That is not bad. Those are four big projects, which include a new university, Kerry as a university county and Killarney now getting a major new college of further education. We will keep at it.
78. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he deems it appropriate for universities and colleges to increase their cost of accommodation for this academic year while the country experiences a cost-of-living crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40450/23]
Given the cost-of-living crisis we are in, and the very real financial hardship and stress that many students and their families are in, does the Minister think it is appropriate for universities and colleges to increase the cost of student accommodation for this academic year?
I thank the Deputy for his question. Of course, our universities need to operate under the law, as does everybody else. We brought in rent pressure zones, RPZs, which universities are covered by. Any time it has ever been suggested to me that those rent pressure zones should be lifted or changed, or exemptions made for universities, I have not been supportive of it and that will continue to be the case. I am acutely aware of the difficulty faced by students regarding the affordable supply of student accommodation. I outlined to the House some of the steps we are taking to try to develop more student accommodation.
To be self-critical, we have relied on the private market for too long. We have also relied on universities to use their own resources to build student accommodation. We are now getting involved in a very direct way in that €61 million of taxpayers' money was pledged in November to build 1,100 student accommodation units.
In return for us investing that, we have demands around affordability. That gives us a lever that we quite frankly did not have when the State did not invest money before. We now see students going back to college, with 938 more student accommodation beds this September than last September. There are also 2,000 more private accommodation beds.
Higher education institutions that provide student-specific accommodation are under the remit of the Residential Tenancies Board. They must comply with the law of the land governing rent reviews. Legislation was introduced in this House in 2021 to cap rent increases at a maximum of 2% in RPZs, in circumstances where general inflation is at a higher level. The majority of our universities and colleges are located within RPZs and have to comply with relevant legislation regarding potential increases. I am trying to use the levers at my disposal to try to assist students by making sure that if there is any improvement or enhancement to the rent tax credit, students must benefit in relation to that.
We are also providing €440,000 to our universities specifically for any student who may find themselves in financial difficulty arising from their housing or student accommodation situation. That is a new measure we have put in place this year. We are also looking at how we can make improvements in relation to fees and grants in the budget in a couple of weeks’ time. I am aware of the law of the land in relation to the RPZs. I expect everyone to comply with that. Some universities have reduced the cost of rent. Some have increased it. Within those confines, I am trying to use the practical measures at my disposal to help students with the cost of living and the cost of accommodation.
Am I to take it from what the Minister has said that it is his view that it is appropriate to have increases, as long they comply with the RPZ legislation? As I am sure the Minister is aware, there is huge stress on students, as well as mental health and well-being issues for students who cannot find affordable accommodation. There are ever-longer commutes. This has impacted students’ education. It is also impacting student choice because students increasingly feel that they can only apply to the college closest to them and do not have the range of choice of different third level education institutions around the country.
Some providers of student accommodation are circumventing the RPZ rules by not increasing the rent above the levels permitted under those rules but introducing additional charges which are not discretionary and which the students must pay. What are the Minister and the Government doing to address that and to stop the circumventing of the RPZ rules?
My answer is factual in the sense that I have to work within the laws of the land. Within the law of the land, higher education institutions are autonomous institutions that are responsible for their own day-to-day management and operational affairs. I have responsibility for making sure we put measures in place to help students with the costs of going to college, including the cost of rent. I recognise that the costs of rent and accommodation are now the biggest costs that any student will face when going to college. That is why I worked to make sure students could avail of the rent tax credit, as could their parents. We need to see a tweaking of that. The parents at the moment cannot avail of it if the student is in digs, but only the students. Some students do not earn enough to draw that down. I would like to see that being fixed in the budget. I would also like to see the rent tax credit perhaps being doubled in the budget. Crucially, I want to increase accommodation. We have already identified 1,100 units that we will subvent. When we are spending taxpayers’ money, we put in place clear rules around affordability that have not existed up until now.
On foot of this question, I will ask my Department to carry out an analysis for me of any of the hidden costs or additional charges that are being imposed on students. If the Deputy is saying to me that people are trying to find other ways of hiking up the rent outside of the spirit of the law that was passed by this House, that is something I would take a very dim view of.
I thank the Minister for that response. This has been well documented. There is evidence of student accommodation providers clearly circumventing the RPZ rules with additional costs. It is not for discretionary items they can choose to opt into or opt out of.
Sure.
They cannot rent their accommodation without paying those additional charges that have been increasingly introduced. They are a way for large providers to get around these rules. It has been brought to the attention of Government Ministers before. This urgently needs action. I welcome that the Minister says he will look into it-----
I will.
-----but it urgently needs to be addressed, because this is going against the spirit of the law, if not the actual law. The Government needs to take a view on this and act on it. It must either change the legislation or, if the legislation is robust enough in this area, it must enforce it.
I want to thank an Teachta Cian O'Callaghan for tabling this question. It is something we have seen over the last number of weeks and days. Students have been coming together and clearly protesting any increases in the cost of student accommodation. This is not only for themselves, but they are showing solidarity for others and solidarity for the future. That is really powerful and strong and it highlights the benefits of that kind of protest.
We have also seen, as Deputy Cian O'Callaghan has mentioned, some universities bringing in extra charges. I said that the contribution charge was a fee under any other name and, to me, this is an additional rental accommodation charge under any other name. Again, my big concern is that it continues to lock people out of third level education. I am aware that it is a result of the wider housing crisis we are seeing, and how it is impacting so many families. That in itself is impacting people’s ability to go to third level education. We are seeing this so clearly for our student population.
I fully accept the challenges, and do so against a context and a backdrop of really high levels of participation rates in third level education. I am trying to take a number of steps to provide more pathways and opportunities, including providing universities in the regions. The idea that everyone has to move to a big city means that there can be a last-minute scramble, which causes some challenges. Indeed, it can cause a dearth of a younger population in a region as well.
When I answer these questions, it often highlights the need to have more college-owned, State-owned student accommodation. I would be misleading the House if I suggested that this is anything other than my policy desire. We need to have more college-owned student accommodation because that provides us with levers in terms of the design. I often meet with students who tell me they do not want to be paying for the frills.
Student unions tell me this all the time. We are going to standardise the design. You can build whatever student accommodation you want, but if we are investing in it, it will have to fit into one, two or three types of design. Students are inputting into that process, and we will have the output of that early next year. Once we invest, we have a right to have conversations about affordability in return for that investment.
80. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to outline the progress made to date on Dundalk Institute of Technology becoming a technological university under the Technological Universities Act 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40334/23]
The Minister has been doing a lot of extra work in County Louth. I very much appreciate it in all capacities. I ask the Minister to outline the progress made to date on Dundalk Institute of Technology, DkIT, becoming a technological university under the Technological Universities Act 2018 and if he will make a statement on the matter. It is hugely important. It has not happened up to now, despite all the excellent efforts the Minister and other people in the education field are putting into it.
I love coming to Louth because I think we are making real progress with the Louth and Meath Education and Training Board, LMETB. I want to praise Martin O’Brien, who is the CEO of LMETB, and others there. I thank Deputy O’Dowd for bringing me up the road to Drogheda so often. We now have plans to significantly expand Drogheda Institute of Further Education. I am very excited about this from an educational point of view, but also from a community and social cohesion point of view. There is the Guerin report, etc., that needs to be addressed. We also had the very significant opening of the Drogheda apprenticeship hub, which is an opportunity for 300 people to do apprenticeships in electrics and other areas in Drogheda. That will be major in terms of opportunities in the north east. The Deputy is entirely right to highlight that the next and crucial piece of the jigsaw is that we need a university in the north east.
Yes.
We know what the map of Ireland looks like. Every single application that has come to me for a technological university has now been delivered on, but we have had challenges. We do not need a history lesson on how we get over that DkIT issue and how we deliver a university of scale for the north east and all the good opportunities that will come from that.
I need to say at the outset that DkIT is an autonomous higher education institution. Of course, that means the strategic direction of the institution is rightly a question for its governing body. This includes how it wishes to position itself in the higher education landscape. I know from my own recent discussions, and indeed a meeting I had with the newly appointed president of the institution, Dr. Diarmuid O’Callaghan, whom I congratulate on his appointment, that he has been holding a series of exploratory discussions with a number of higher education institutions, including Maynooth University. He has been very proactive in advancing discussions. Some of them are at quite an exciting moment. In the latter case, in relation to Maynooth University, both presidents have now informed their respective staff that these contacts are under way.
I need to take a step back and say that I understand that these interactions and discussions are in their early stages. If any substantive developments potentially come into view over time, they would be required to be put to staff, students and relevant stakeholders. As such, I am satisfied that we now need to allow the new president, Dr. O’Callaghan the room - a bit of room but not too long - to flesh out all the discussions to the fullest extent possible. I stand fully ready to support the institute in continuing its own strategic inclusions in due course.
I thank the Minister for his reply. I will say that it is time that progress was made. I agree with him that we must give a practical period of time to the new president to get the work under way.
It is really important that he is given the space to do that, with the knowledge and expectation that the Department will be ready to step in as and when required and to keep a watching brief and give encouragement. It is unfortunate, but we will not go into a history lesson. The past is the past and the future is for the young people of the region. I believe the discussions the Minister spoke about are pointing the way forward. My colleague wants to come in as well. That is Deputy Ó Murchú in case he does not know.
He can do so in a moment.
I agree with everything Deputy O'Dowd says, but I stand here thinking that there are reasons to be excited and hopeful now about the future of DkIT. I congratulate the new president and thank him for the proactivity he is bringing to this. We need to bring this to finality. We also need to provide that little bit of space. The staff in DkIT and in Maynooth University have been informed by their presidents that they are having preliminary discussions. That is how they should be best described. If it gets beyond that stage, more substantive discussions will be required. Let me say very clearly that we are willing, as a Department and a Government - with the best wishes and supports of Louth Oireachtas Members – to support DkIT in whatever strategic advancement it wants to take on its journey. The north east deserves and needs a university. DkIT has done a wonderful job over the years but I know those who work there, those who go there and all the stakeholders in the area want to see the north east get the recognition that other regions have got in regard to third level education. I am determined to do that.
One issue is the compatibility of the two institutions and the range of subjects that they might offer, as well as the challenges involved. If I remember my history right, Maynooth has very good scientific and academic powers and abilities. It would be an interesting mix, and we could have an entirely new type of course in DkIT as well that would be different from what it would traditionally have had. This synergy and the exciting future for the north east rests now in the hands of the new president, Maynooth and ourselves. I have every confidence that will happen across the board. I know that my colleague, Deputy Ó Murchú, is hopeful as well. That is the second time in two days that I have called him a colleague. We all work together in the north east on issues as profound and important as this.
I thank Deputy O'Dowd for being so gracious and allowing me in. We will probably not be as nice over the next while, but so be it.
I commend the president, Dr. O'Callaghan, and his team on the piece of work they have done. This is the most positive we have been in relation to DkIT and technological university status. I do not know how many times we have all said that we are starting from a bad place and that there are no dance partners. In fairness, a fair amount was probably said that was not necessarily in the public domain in relation to the possibility of having a university. A fair question was asked about compatibility. My knowledge-view would be that Maynooth probably has a huge amount of experience and has a considerable number of courses in humanities and that DkIT not only will add numbers but will contribute in particular in the engineering sphere.
I also put on the record and thank the Minister for the recent meeting with personal assistants, PAs, on delivering them better pay. We know that will also deliver for those with disabilities trying to work through further education. I think everyone will be in agreement on that.
I am determined to work with Deputy Ó Murchú on the PA issue and to make progress on it. I thank him for the constructive way in which we have engaged on that. In relation to any potential strategic decisions DkIT may or may not make in the future, I am not going to give a view on it today because I think it would be unfair and disrespectful to their autonomy and to the process in what are only preliminary discussions. My view is that the north east needs a university. There are different ways of getting there; and it is ultimately for DkIT to decide its best future. It is then my job, as part of the Government, to step in with any financial assistance and policy decisions, including legislation if required, that may be needed. I am ready to do that. It is my view and my request that we give a brief period of time to the president of DkIT and others to have conversations and to get it to a point where he and others may then believe they are in a position to have substantive discussions or not, and let us take it forward from there. It is an encouraging moment.
81. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science what plans and funding he has in place for student accommodation in Carlow, now that it is a university town and county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40746/23]
Could I ask the Minister what plans and funding are in place for student accommodation in Carlow, now that we are a university town and county, and if he will make a statement on the matter?
I thank Deputy Murnane O'Connor very much for raising this issue and for working with me on the delivery of the South East Technological University, SETU, which benefits Carlow, and also issues relating to Carlow College, which I know she is very passionate about and on which I am very committed to working with her.
We want to see more college-owned student accommodation. It is so important that we are not just reliant on the market or on universities borrowing of their own volition. In my view, we need to get much more stuck in because it increases overall housing supply. It also provides opportunities for technological universities not just to serve their region but also to welcome in students from outside their region, which is really important. That is why we are providing funding to the technological universities to develop their plans. As Deputy Murnane O'Connor knows, because we have discussed it, we have provided €1 million to the technological universities to work with experts on developing their plans. They will establish how many beds are needed in Carlow and in Waterford and what the overall need for the region is. There will be the output of that work, plus another piece of work I am doing with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage on standardised design and what student accommodation should look like, so we are not starting with a blank sheet of paper every time. I believe those two pieces of information will enable us to take steps forward in 2024 on the delivery of student accommodation for the technological universities, which of course includes Carlow as well.
I will also say in the time available to me about Carlow College that I very much welcome that there have been discussions with SETU and that it has referenced in its strategic plan the importance of Carlow College. I thank Fr. Con and others in Carlow College for their work. Obviously, this is a matter for SETU to decide in consultation with Carlow College, but we now have a fund available – the technological sector advancement fund – to the technological universities to draw down for projects. It may well be appropriate that it might decide to seek funding under that fund to be able to further accelerate and explore the opportunities that there are with Carlow College.
I thank the Minister for his work. It has been a pleasure to work with him in recent years on the work he has done in the south east, but in particular for Carlow. We are speaking about student accommodation. This morning I took a quick look at the rental sites and saw that the average rent for one month in Carlow is €1,400 for one- or two-bedroom apartment-style accommodation. Five options are available at the moment, which is awful, but in other places there are none at all. What the Minister said about student accommodation is right. Location, cycle lanes and transport are all so important. Carlow County Council will start its spatial plan on 1 October, so planning for housing and accommodation will be crucial for students as well as for people who require housing.
I also want to talk about Carlow College, St. Patrick's. As the Minister stated, talks are going on at the moment with SETU about integration. Does the Minister have any update on where we are? I believe we need to have this done urgently. This is so important. I know the Minister is working on that with me.
I have a couple of points to make. I thank Deputy Murnane O'Connor for all her work. Only last month my Department gave approval to SETU to purchase a site, which will provide an access route to SETU's currently owned site of 4.7 acres. That is quite an important position. Any integration of Carlow College into an autonomous higher education institution remains in the first instance a matter for the respective governing authorities. In this context, my Department understands that the college has been engaging with SETU on potential incorporation. I note that the strategic plan for SETU, Connecting for Impact, was launched in May. This plan references an action in relation to Carlow College. It refers to an action seeking non-core funding to enable SETU to conduct academic, financial and legal analysis in relation to future partnership models with Carlow College. We now have a technological sector advancement fund, which I think is open for universities to apply for until 19 October. I imagine that SETU may wish to seek funding under that fund so that it can advance the action in its plan relating to Carlow College.
I thank the Minister. As he knows, I am very passionate about Carlow College, St. Patrick's. I am on the governing body and I have always said that. For me as a politician, and for the people of Carlow, County Carlow and the south east, it is imperative that the integration happens. I have been speaking to the different governing authorities. I have made my actions clear, as the Minister is aware, on several occasions.
This has to happen. There is no question about it. The people of Carlow and surrounding areas are delighted that we are now a university town and county. Carlow College, St. Patrick's, has so much to offer. It is an excellent third level education institution. We are lucky to have it. This will and has to be part of SETU.
I thank Deputy Murnane O'Connor for raising this issue. It is quite interesting, particularly for the Carlow area. I am asking this question for my own clarity because I am new in this role. Something that comes up frequently with regard to the technological universities is the lack of clarity regarding borrowing and whether it will be on the Government balance sheets. Why are the technological universities not considered independent for borrowing purposes in the same way as other universities? Now that so many areas have the exciting opportunity of having a university and students want to come along, there will be greater pressures in terms of accommodation.
I would like to send the Deputy a detailed note on the borrowing framework.
I thank the Minister.
I will not do it justice in this time. We need to win the argument and build up enough confidence in allowing people to access State balance sheets and borrowing. The place to start is on the issue of student accommodation and showing proof of concept through that. I will send the Deputy a detailed note on that.
Carlow College is trying to give an incredible gift to the people of Carlow, the south east and the country as a whole by saying it wants this site to be available for education. I want to see that harnessed. I know the Tánaiste has referenced this point. We all want to see this happen. Deputy Murnane O'Connor is very committed to it. As we know, they are autonomous institutions and it will always fall to the two governing authorities to work through this. That is why the action in the SETU strategic plan refers to seeking non-core funding - presumably from my Department - to carry out various analyses. This is a good way in which to proceed. I encourage it to put in an application through that technological sector advancement fund. That might be a practical way to take this to the next level.
84. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his plans to further expand further and higher education in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40657/23]
I ask the Minister to give an update on his plans to further expand further and higher education in County Clare. I would be grateful if he would make a statement on the matter.
I thank Deputy Wynne for this question. I look forward to visiting County Clare shortly. I hope to do so in the next month. Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, LCETB, provides a broad range of further education and training options at levels 1 to 6, including literacy, community education, post-leaving certificate courses, Youthreach, training for the employed and the unemployed, and apprenticeships. Further education and training provision in County Clare, as across the country, is supported through a range of funding pots, including the national recovery and resilience plan, the action plan for apprenticeships, the adult literacy for life strategy and the Future FET: Transforming Learning strategy. I am pleased to say that this investment has supported the enhancement of the further education and training college at the Ennis campus, which I was delighted to visit in the last year or so. It has enabled us to grow the number of traineeships and apprenticeships in hairdressing and electrical on the campus. Additionally, my Department and I are committed to capital investments that will modernise and upgrade further education and training infrastructure across County Clare. All 16 education and training boards, including LCETB, have in place a strategic performance agreement with SOLAS from now to 2024. This sets out what they wish to achieve over the course of that period.
In respect of higher education, Ennis is now a university town because the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest, TUS, has a campus in Ennis serving County Clare. Previously, County Clare lacked a university presence of its own and was traditionally served by higher education institutions such as the University of Limerick, Mary Immaculate College and the University of Galway. However, with the creation of TUS on 1 October 2021, that has changed. The TUS Ennis campus offers two courses in social care work, with around 50 students enrolled.
I know that LCETB is working on several applications for upgrading existing facilities across County Clare, including in Scarriff and elsewhere. There is potential to do more at the TUS campus in Ennis. I look forward to having an opportunity to visit it in the coming weeks and to discuss this matter further with the Deputy.
I look forward to welcoming the Minister to County Clare soon. I know he had provisionally planned to be there recently. I am interested in that event taking place as soon as possible.
I thank the Minister for the information he provided in his reply. I acknowledge his work in making County Clare a university county, as he stated, and making Ennis a university town. Many people were involved in that campaign for a long time. I take this opportunity to acknowledge their hard work in the House. The TUS campus in Ennis currently offers social care work courses up to levels 7 and 8, as well as a business degree in collaboration with LCETB outside the traditional CAO process. I welcome this move because it has opened up many opportunities for people in County Clare. I meet many young constituents who are crippled with anxiety over the leaving certificate and points. Anything to ease that burden and create alternative pathways into degree programmes should be welcomed and celebrated. For that, I commend the Minister and TUS. The university also offers a complement of programmes. We are on the cusp of something huge in the mid-west. I do not want the opportunity offered by offshore renewables to be lost, which I will address more in my next contribution.
I am excited about the new tertiary degrees. We have set up a national tertiary office. There are now 23 degrees which can be accessed by starting in further education with a guarantee of being able to complete it in higher education. Nobody cares or asks what points you got in the leaving certificate. You are assessed on your suitability in different ways, such as interviews and portfolios. More than 800 people have already applied to undertake those degrees. This morning, I will announce that we will double the number of courses in which this option is available for next September. There is real progress to try to get beyond the national obsession with points and the impact that has on students and their well-being. Specifically, in the Deputy's constituency of Clare, I wish to join her in thanking TUS for putting its hand up and offering one of the first tertiary degrees in business in Ennis in collaboration with LCETB. It has shown real leadership in facilitating this exciting opportunity for people in Ennis to get a degree outside the CAO system.
TUS also provides a degree in aircraft maintenance engineering in Shannon in collaboration with a major local employer, Atlantic Aviation Group. It also collaborates with another organisation in Shannon called Atlantic Air Adventures.
Before the recess, the Shannon Estuary economic task force report was launched in Ardnacrusha. This terrific plan seeks to inject a new lease of life into many areas of the mid-west. I commend the excellent work of all who gave their time freely to put it together. The report highlights several opportunities and cites the potential to create approximately 50,000 new jobs over the next 15 years. It is vital that we grab this opportunity by both arms and inject this sorely needed employment into County Clare. In this vein, it is essential that people with the relevant skills are trained and ready to go as locally as possible. Third level education has been delivered to Ennis and Shannon; now it is time to be ambitious and go further west. A satellite campus in west Clare that would be a centre of excellence for training and apprenticeships with respect to the erection and upkeep of our floating offshore wind capacity would be a strong asset to the further and higher education offering in the mid-west. I ask the Minister to engage with the relevant stakeholders - me, my Oireachtas colleagues in County Clare, our councillors, TUS and the ETB - to create this facility, which would revolutionise and reinvigorate some of the energy in west Clare.
I am happy to explore that idea with Deputy Wynne and to have a meeting with the relevant stakeholders. The proposal needs to come through various education and training boards, universities and others. I see huge potential when it comes to renewable energy and offshore wind. Often, we talk about climate in terms of all the challenges it poses, which it does - it is the biggest crisis the world is facing - but there is also huge opportunity in new education, new jobs and the green economy. Geographically, west Clare is well placed for that. I am happy to further explore this with the Deputy and take any meeting on the matter.
85. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for an update on increasing the throughput of craft apprentices through the system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40589/23]
In order to deal with the issues we have been outlining over the last hour and a half - I refer to the housing crisis and student accommodation - we need to make sure there is a strong throughput of craft apprentices, especially for the future of young people who want to stay here, contribute to this society and help to solve that crisis. Will the Minister provide an update on what he is doing to increase the throughput of apprentices?
It is a pity we will not have much time for this question. I am sure we will return to it again. The apprenticeship system is responding to a marked increase in demand over the past four years. For the reasons the Deputy has mentioned, we need more people working in the trades. We estimate that we need 50,000 more people working in construction by 2030 and 17,000 more in retrofitting. Both housing and climate are dependent on more people taking up the trades and apprenticeships. The key thing we need to do is to increase capacity across the system. This includes physical capacity, which is why we are opening new training centres, like the one in Drogheda. We must also identify other opportunities to turn around additional capacity quickly.
I thank SIPTU.
I thank those working in the apprenticeship sector, who have stepped up and gone above and beyond. They could easily have said, "No thanks; we have done enough here." They stepped up because they care and are passionate and know how important apprenticeships are. In many cases, they provided a third intake - an extra class which has made a real and meaningful difference.
I assure the Deputy that in order to further accelerate and intensify delivery of increased apprenticeship training capacity we have established a task force chaired by my Department with SOLAS, the National Apprenticeship Office, the Higher Education Authority, education and training boards and union representatives. We are considering a range of issues on which I hope we can make progress in the budget approximately two weeks from now. Fundamentally, that has to be about growing capacity and expanding the sector.
