Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 January 2024
77. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the status of the proposed site that the Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board has identified for a training centre in Roscommon town; if a decision has been made by his Department to fund this site; and, if not, when a decision will be made on this. [1993/24]
View answerThe Minister is well aware that a site has been identified in Roscommon for a training centre for the ETB. It has the backing of all political sides in Roscommon. It is not just me, but everyone who has spoken to the Minister. Moegie Maher, a Fine Gael councillor in Galway who is on the ETB, has been involved in it.
This is Roscommon Inc. coming together to identify a site that will actually help with skills down the road. I am asking about the status of the proposed site. Is the Department funding it and where are we at? If a decision has not been made, when will one be made?
I thank the Deputy for asking the question and raising this issue with me on a number of occasions. I thank him for being good and honourable enough to acknowledge other people like Councillor Moegie Maher, Senator Dolan and others who have worked on this. I acknowledge that everybody from Roscommon in this House has come together to try to make progress on this and to work very closely with the Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board, GRETB. I thank them for their work on that.
My officials and I are very aware of the GRETB application and the work that is being done on the business case in respect of the proposed purchase of a property in Roscommon town to facilitate new apprenticeship training capacity. Initial documentation regarding this request for funding was submitted by GRETB to SOLAS, our agency, late last year. SOLAS is now working with GRETB to finalise that business case, which is important in securing funding. As part of this process, GRETB will be required to provide some further detail to support the acquisition from a strategic viewpoint, while taking account of the overall regional and national plans for apprentice provision for the region. This is in line with requirements that I have to satisfy in terms of the infrastructure guidelines. Once the business case is completed, it can then be appraised and forwarded to my Department. At a practical and basic level, we need to increase apprenticeship capacity dramatically around the country. I am eager to progress any capacity that we can find. We also need to make sure that people can access apprenticeships near their locality, so that if somebody in Roscommon wants to become an apprentice, he or she does not have to travel long distances to do so. We also have to recognise that there is a gap in the map, when it comes to Roscommon, that I am very eager to fill.
The Deputy will understand that it would not be helpful for me to comment on a specific building or site, but I can tell him very clearly that my overall aim is to make sure we have apprenticeship provision in County Roscommon. Indeed, we may be a bit more ambitious in that and not just limit it to apprenticeship but other skill provision that should be available in the county. My commitment is that my officials and SOLAS will continue to work very closely with GRETB. I thank its leadership team, which is doing a very good job to try to get the business case completed as a matter of urgency and to work through the process. I am eager to work with the Deputy and his colleagues in the constituency on this matter.
In fairness to the Minister, he has engaged until now. Suitable buildings do not become available too often in many parts of the country. I am familiar with the building in question. It was a garage at one time. It would be ideal for the type of apprenticeships that are being proposed. You do not find that easily. The GRETB staff can walk from the current building to the new proposed site. I know the Minister has said that more information has to be sent. The one thing we do not want is to see the process dragging on because we will lose the likes of a building like that. I am fearful that we will miss the opportunity that is there in Roscommon. It will help local businesses and those providing accommodation and everything else. There are different parts to it. Some of the youngsters could be staying in the town, which would help rejuvenate the area. I ask the Minister to keep engaging on this matter.
I agree with everything the Deputy said. I do not want this to drag on either. I obviously cannot be site-specific because of the process that needs to be gone through, but if I am asked whether I want to see apprenticeship provision in County Roscommon and want to help GRETB and SOLAS make that happen as a matter of urgency, I can say that I do. Right across the country, we are prioritising a massive increase in apprenticeship capacity. We just made an announcement in Dundalk today in relation to extra capacity for Dundalk Institute of Technology, DKIT to provide apprenticeships. That is an example from as recently as a few minutes ago. We are actively in the business of trying to grow our apprenticeship provision. We saw more apprentices complete first-time registration in this country last year than we did in any other year. Almost 9,000 new people put up their hand and said they wanted to be an apprentice. That means thousands more people to help us build our homes, retrofit our houses and meet some of our key targets.
The point the Deputy made about the regional piece is key. We have to make it as easy as possible for someone to become an apprentice, and we have to provide opportunities for businesses in the region to be able to access the supply of apprentices. That is why I am excited about the GRETB proposal. I will work very closely with the Deputy and his colleagues in Roscommon on the matter.
We have talked about building houses, and I know some of them are being built off-site at the moment. We are struggling to get youngsters into a lot of the wet trades. We are struggling to get mechanics as well. One upon a time, you used a spanner to fix a tractor; nowadays, it is a computer. It is totally different. The training is totally different from what it was at one time. You need part of both, but the computer identifies all the problems now. With the way the technology has changed, we need a lot of youngsters to do the learning. Some of the mechanics who were trained up under the old system are more reluctant to have a go at it, to be honest. We need the mechanical side of it because obviously we need transport going, but we also need people in the wet trades, including plastering and all of that, if we are talking about building houses.
All I will say is that in my opinion, the proposed site is an ideal one. I would love for the process to be pushed on. I thank the Minister for his engagement so far and I hope he keeps his finger on the pulse. It is not just me; it is every representative in Roscommon and, in fairness, east Galway. They are all together on this.
I give the Deputy my word that I will keep a very close eye on this and take an active interest in providing apprenticeship places in Roscommon, working with the Deputy and Oireachtas colleagues. The Deputy is correct when he talks about mechanics. I was out recently at an event. The AA has an upskilling and reskilling workshop because the mechanic of today needs a very different skill set tomorrow. I think last year we saw more new electric vehicles, EVs, purchased than new petrol or diesel cars. That means the mechanic of today is going to start seeing more and more EVs coming in. It is a very different skill set. The level of upskilling and reskilling that we have to do, even among people currently working in trades, with modern methods of construction being another example, is very real.
I am really encouraged by the number of people taking up apprenticeships. We have seen a 63% increase in the number of new apprentices between 2020 and this year. We have seen more people take up the craft apprentices than we had targeted for. A record number of people are becoming apprentices, but we have to do more. We need more capacity and we need to bring a regional balance to it. I thank GRETB and the Deputy for their work on this. I will be asking for the business case to be brought to a conclusion as a matter of urgency.
