Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 July 2021
8. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the measures that will be implemented to intensify co-operation on a North-South basis in the areas of further education and higher education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36830/21]
View answerAs we know, the Good Friday Agreement established a number of all-Ireland implementation bodies, including the promotion of tourism on an all-Ireland basis and the management of rail and waterways. At that time, a number of areas were identified for further collaboration and co-operation on an all-Ireland basis, including education. Unfortunately, that has not been given the priority in the meantime, North or South, that it needs. There is an opportunity, particularly with the shared island initiative, to drive forward teaching, learning and research on a cross-Border and all-Ireland basis. Will the Minister outline the specific measures he will implement to drive that agenda?
I thank the Deputy for the question and recognise his obvious interest and commitment to this issue as a Border Deputy and a long-serving Member of the House. I strongly believe, as does the Government, that there is significant potential for enhanced North-South collaboration throughout the further and higher education and research system. This is an issue to which I have attached high priority. I have had many meetings about it with counterparts in Northern Ireland, the Social and Democratic Labour Party, SDLP, Deputy Conway-Walsh and the British ambassador. It is an issue on which we need to make much progress because such co-operation can help us better understand people and communities, as well as resulting in benefits to education and research.
This week, the Taoiseach and I launched a dedicated North-South research programme, which will provide a €40 million fund for research collaboration as part of the shared island initiative. I sincerely thank the Taoiseach for this work, which is funded through the shared island unit in his Department, and for his personal commitment to this. The initiative will be managed by the Higher Education Authority on behalf of my Department and will support collaboration among individual researchers, research teams and institutions North and South. The requirement for taking part is that involves somebody in the North and somebody in the Republic. This will no doubt help research but will also help build those relationships.
My Department is also committed to working collaboratively to ensure the delivery of the commitments made in New Decade, New Approach. This includes supporting the development of all-island research hubs, as well as facilitating close collaboration between education providers, including potential capital investment in Magee College, a matter I might return to in my follow-up reply. We need concrete proposals because the Irish and British Governments both gave solemn commitments under New Decade, New Approach to the development of Magee College and I want to deliver on that.
Officials from my Department are also working closely with colleagues in the Department for the Economy in the North on the development of a cross-Border skills initiative. For the first time, Ireland has included a skills initiative on a cross-Border basis in the forthcoming PEACE PLUS programme, which will offer further opportunities in both the further and the higher education spaces.
I thank the Minister for his positive response and for his determination to make progress in this area. I represent a constituency where, fortunately, there are two good colleges of further education, in Cavan and Monaghan. The Minister may recall that at our virtual meeting at Cavan Institute, we spoke again about the potential for co-operation. In our neighbouring counties, there are institutes of further education in Enniskillen and Omagh, which are long established and teach to a high standard. There is potential to co-operate on that cross-Border, all-Ireland basis.
As we know, further education is of great importance, particularly to less advantaged communities. Some communities in Northern Ireland believe they have not benefited from the Good Friday Agreement and, unfortunately, many people have not got the educational attainment or the skills they need. I have seen through my constituency work the value there is, perhaps for people who did not complete second level education, in getting a second chance, going on to further education and, sometimes, getting a pathway to higher education and good employment. We must drive that agenda North and South.
Absolutely. I very much believe that the PEACE PLUS initiative and the cross-Border skills programme will possibly be the first time we have had to do that at scale and with a degree of intensity that has perhaps been lacking in the past. I am very much looking forward to that, and the programme will be finalised this year. It will give opportunity, not just in the higher education space but also in that of skills. For many people living in counties on both sides of the Border, there will be a considerable need for upskilling, reskilling and preparing for new jobs and for the disruption coming to the economy. I intend to seek a meeting with the new Minister for the Economy in the North, whom I congratulate on his appointment this week, to examine how we can work together to advance some of those commitments.
I knew the Deputy would mention Cavan Institute because it is very important to him. I was delighted we had that virtual meeting and I look forward to making progress together on the capital commitments for Cavan, which I will visit with the Deputy soon. My colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, will lead on our apprenticeship action plan, which also has commitments in regard to all-island apprenticeships for the first time ever. Let us keep in touch on this agenda. There is a great opportunity to make progress in this space.
I acknowledge that my colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, is working on apprenticeships and I welcome that. I welcome also the Minister's commitment in regard to Magee College and the great co-operation between Letterkenny Institute and Magee College. Having listened to the director of the former and the president of the latter, I believe the level of co-operation taking place in the north west is heartening. In the north east, similarly, there has been very good co-operation between Dundalk Institute of Technology, Queen's University and Ulster University, which have undertaken research projects. Dundalk Institute of Technology and Ulster University carried out a large project on renewable energy, while Queen's University and Dundalk Institute of Technology conducted a project on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD. What is already in place can be built on.
One interesting project that Dundalk Institute of Technology carried out, and it might be one to which the Department could give some consideration, sought to improve pathways from further education to higher education, including on a cross-Border basis. I was the chairman of the first board of the then Cavan College of Further Studies, and it gives me great pleasure and a sense of attainment when I see the numbers going through that college and the people getting a pathway to higher education or to good work. We need to maximise the potential of further education.
On the pathways point, the Deputy and I met a guy called Jack, whose story I tell everywhere I go. He got his first choice on the CAO and started his course, which, as is the case for many people, was not for him. He decided to leave that, returned to Cavan Institute and completed one year of pre-law there. He got a great grounding in law and decided it was for him. He will start at Maynooth University in September studying for a law degree. That is what colleges of further education, such as that in Cavan, can do. We have to get them to parity and equity in terms of recognising their ability to transform lives.
On research, I fully agree with the Deputy. What the Taoiseach has done this week with the €40 million allocation will be potentially transformational. The scale of that funding will enable us to do much more on research on a North-South basis. The Deputy is correct; we are not starting from scratch. This can be a precursor to the delivery of all-island research centres, a key commitment of the Government. In regard to Magee College, we remain fully committed. We need clear proposals we can fund and we need to get on with funding it. I have had a number of meetings with Magee College in that regard.
