I wish to share my time with Senator Norris.
Adjournment Matter. - Agricultural Training and Education.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I raise this matter, which is the need for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development to ensure that adequate training and educational outlets are provided to young people wishing to pursue a career in agriculture, for a very specific reason. There is a danger that Gurteen agricultural college in Tipperary will close as the result of a recent report carried out by the ESRI for Teagasc, with which the Minister of State will be familiar. It looked at the future of agricultural colleges in Ireland and recommended the closure of several of them. It did not recommend the closure of Gurteen, but it recommended it as an alternative to the closure of Rockwell.
I want to put the case for Gurteen college, which now has the sword of Damocles hanging over its head and is very worried it might close. I believe this would be unjustified.
Gurteen college, as the Minister of State knows, was set up by the Methodist community in 1947. It is still answerable to the Methodist conference but it is no longer an exclusively Protestant college. While it has a Methodist ethos, it has served the community of Tipperary and the wider Irish community in a very commendable way. It would be a great pity if a college of this sort and with this ethos were closed. I hope the Minister of State will consider that point in his reply and will take it back to the Minister, as a point which should be considered in the pluralist atmosphere in which we now live in Ireland.
The result of this report has been to leave Gurteen agricultural college in a state of limbo. It does not know whether it will remain open or be closed. No decision has been made. The college got a copy of the report. Its activities are frozen, to some extent, because no decision has been made but one is pending. As a result of this, no capital funding is likely to be available to Gurteen college in the immediate future.
I will briefly make the case for Gurteen college. It is fair to say there was a dip in numbers in the college last year. However, that has been remedied, so any case made that it is a flagging college is not true. It is a college in a state of revival and numbers for 2000 are already up by 33%. It has residential student facilities and teachers' offices which are second to none. It would be an appalling waste if these were to be closed down when they are in such pristine condition.
Gurteen is geographically well placed to remain open and badly placed to close. This morning I looked at a map showing the locations of agricultural colleges. Some of the other agricultural colleges are also recommended for closure. Gurteen, being in north Tipperary, is adjacent to Offaly, Laois, Kildare, Wicklow and Carlow, none of which has agricultural colleges. Indeed, there are no agricultural colleges between Gurteen and the east coast. The west and midlands are better served but Gurteen must serve a huge area.
The college has the best sports and accommodation facilities in Ireland. Again, it would be a great shame if, having developed these facilities, the college is forced to close. On the academic side, it has a small and well equipped horse unit. It does a two year national certificate in equine studies, a speciality which presumably will be lost not only to the area but to many young students. The report claims that Mountbellew has the capacity to take students from Gurteen if it is closed down but I am reliably informed that this is not the case and that the report is based on information which is no longer true.
Gurteen acquired a new principal in January this year. It has embarked upon a new development programme in which £1 million has been committed by the governors of Gurteen specifically for development of a multi-purpose student demonstration building which will be followed by construction of a learning resource centre. The college has a 20 year plan for development which is in danger of being interrupted. It would be an absurd short-term measure to cut costs in education, which is heralded as the area in which we should invest more money, if this great agricultural college with its liberal ethos and history were to be shut down.
I am grateful to Senator Ross for sharing his time. Like Senator Ross, I was approached by a number of constituents who are concerned about the college and are even more concerned on account of what happened a few days ago in the Seanad during the debate on Agenda 2000. A number of my colleagues discussed the colleges. Rockwell was passionately spoken for by Senator Hayes, Senator Kiely spoke about the colleges in Limerick and Senator Cassidy derided the criteria employed in the examination of the future of Multyfarnham as incredible and biased, but nobody mentioned Gurteen.
This is particularly important for a number of reasons. I take a personal interest in the issue because my brother attended the college for a short period. The college was founded by the Methodist Church to encourage the Protestant community in the Republic to make a fundamental contribution to the economic and social welfare of the country. The slight decline in numbers in 1999 was anomalous. It was the first year it happened and enrolment is now increasing again.
There is a decline in the number of full-time farmers throughout the country but that does not mean there should be a reduction in college places. Instead, there should be a fundamental shift in the agricultural curriculum towards environmental and rural renewal issues, the type of courses in which Gurteen has specialised. The Teagasc report recommends withholding capital funding from all but one of the voluntary or private colleges. That means a choice between Gurteen and Rockwell. That is an invidious choice, especially given the background of Gurteen.
The question is whether Ireland is abandoning the ideal of partnership between the State and the voluntary sector at a time when the Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, has passionately committed himself on the public airwaves to this type of partnership. The Teagasc report is based on a projection of numbers in farming over the next ten, 15 and 20 years. This focus is far too narrow from which to deduce firm policy conclusions. In the first place, these numbers are always wrong. Look at the case of the primary school teachers and Carysfort training college. Look at the Harcourt Street railway line and student nursing. These inaccurate predictions have always got us into trouble in the past.
In the case of agriculture we require a more evolved system of certificates, diplomas, degrees and so forth so young people will remain longer in agricultural education and older people will return to it. Courses are required in the care of the rural environment, leadership, rural community development and personal development in the rural context. These are the courses Gurteen is starting to develop. Diversification of educational opportunities is required, not a crude cost cutting exercise. We need to deal with the findings of Clancy on participation in third level education which demonstrate low participation in areas that do not have their own local institutions. Senator Ross clearly outlined the absence of these facilities in the east of the country.
These points apply equally to Gurteen and Rockwell, if we are obliged to consider that choice. However, when Gurteen was founded in 1946, President de Valera referred to the significance of the college as a major contribution to the Protestant community in terms of providing agricultural education in its own environment and ethos. Within 20 years of its establishment, Gurteen had developed into a pluralist institution. I do not want to be seen as narrowly plugging a Protestant ethos. There is still a significant Protestant commitment to agriculture but many of the bigger farmers are opting to send their children to England to be educated. That is a pity and Gurteen could assist in preventing it.
Gurteen has always demonstrated a pioneering spirit by being co-educational and pluralist, by integrating theory and practice and in course development, equine studies and so forth. There is also the issue of perception. How will this be perceived in the North? That is the problem with the Agenda 2000 debate. All the other colleges were mentioned but Gurteen was not. Thanks to Senator Ross it has now been firmly placed on the agenda.
There is a final major issue which Gurteen is particularly advantaged in terms of position to address, that is, providing significant education in organic agriculture. That is the way of the future, where Ireland's excellence will lie, and if Gurteen is closed down, it will be a huge mistake. The Minister has not referred to closure but coyly described it as a choice. It is a Hobson's choice and if the debate on Agenda 2000 is an indicator, Gurteen is right to fear. I hope Senator Ross and I will get a firm commitment from the Minister of State.
I thank the Senators for raising this important subject. It was raised a few weeks ago in the Dáil in the context of rural development. Several Members of this House also contributed when the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine debated the matter last Tuesday in the context of the future of the agricultural colleges. I acknowledge the specific contribution made on behalf of Gurteen College, one of the colleges listed for change. However, no decision has been taken.
The benefits of education and training are high for the individual and society. We all know that the success of the Irish economy in recent years is attributable in no small part to our investment in education and training and also to the sacrifices parents have been prepared to make to provide the best possible education for their children. During my time as Minister of State I have availed of every opportunity to get across the message that education and training are just as important for a career in agriculture as they are for any other career. This is particularly the case here, given the relative importance of our agri-business sector to the overall economy and because of the many changes currently affecting the sector and the challenges that will arise over the next few years.
Members will be aware that responsibility for the provision of agricultural education and training has been statutorily assigned to Teagasc, which operates under the aegis of my Department. Teagasc's education and training programme is delivered through Teagasc's own network of colleges and local training centres as well as a number of private colleges located throughout the country. I take this opportunity to compliment all those training providers for the excellent work they have done over the years and continue to do. The challenge facing us in the agriculture sector is to ensure the training opportunities available to prospective young farmers are as attractive and relevant as possible.
It was with that objective in mind that I set up a task force last year to carry out a fundamental review of the training needs of agriculture, taking account of the many changes in social and economic circumstances in recent years and the challenges on the horizon to which I have referred. The task force, which reported to me in July, made a number of recommendations, two of which I consider to be of particular importance. The first concerned the need to bring agricultural education into the mainstream educational system. Teagasc and the private colleges have made considerable progress in this regard and will provide a range of new courses from the next academic year in conjunction with the institutes of technology. The second recommendation concerned the urgent need for substantial capital investment in the agricultural colleges. Recognising the important role the colleges play in agri culture and rural development, the Government has responded and is providing £10 million to Teagasc to upgrade the colleges over the next few years.
Concern was expressed recently about the future of some of the colleges, especially some private colleges – the Deputies referred in particular to a private college. I recognise the importance of Gurteen college in terms of its historical significance and its religious ethos, representing a minority within the country. I thank Deputy Ross for bringing that to my attention. I also thank Senator—
Norris.
I am sorry.
The Minister of State obviously does not listen to Today FM where I feature regularly as Senator "Horace".
I read the Senator's articles in newspapers. Senator Ross is famous for his major contribution to the financial pages of the Sunday Independent and I read his article with great interest every Sunday.
The Minister of State does not follow me with great interest every Sunday.
The Senator does not write for the financial pages.
Let us hear the Minister of State without interruption.
I understand that the concern expressed recently about the future of some of the colleges, especially some private colleges, has arisen out of a report prepared by the ESRI for Teagasc. This report represents a contribution to the possible direction of agricultural education in Ireland, but it is not a blueprint for same. I emphasise that for as long as student numbers remain viable Teagasc, with the funding made available by my Department, will continue to provide the normal financial support for all the colleges, both Teagasc and private. My overall concern, which no doubt is shared by the Members of this House, is to ensure that our future young farmers will have the best possible training facilities available to them, on a par with the facilities students on comparable training programmes enjoy. In this, the colleges are a vital resource. Furthermore, I am anxious to explore a broader role for all colleges in the important area of rural development. I thank the Deputies for raising this important matter, particularly Gurteen college.
I wish to ask the Minister of State a supplementary question. I thank him for the attention he has given to Gurteen college. When is a decision likely to be made on the fate of these agricultural colleges, particularly Gurteen?
The report was provided by Teagasc which operates under the remit of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. It is a matter for the board of Teagasc to make that decision. Teagasc is an autonomous organisation. The Department only regulates Teagasc.
Thank you.
The Seanad adjourned at 2.05 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 22 November 2000.