Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 3 Apr 2001

Vol. 533 No. 6

Written Answers. - Third Level Education.

John McGuinness

Ceist:

464 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Science the steps his Department has taken on foot of his announcement in mid-2000 regarding initiatives to improve third level take-up in the south east; the amount of funding made available to each initiative; the success rate of each initiative; the type of courses being run in Kilkenny and Wexford; and the number of students involved. [9885/01]

Minister for Education and Science (Dr. Woods):

Last August I announced my plans to strengthen the education base in regions which are not well served at present and to establish effective links with higher and further education institutions. My intention is to address the related problems of non-completion of second level education and low participation rates in higher edu cation, which are hampering development in these regions.

Following my announcement the diocesan authorities offered St. Peter's College, Wexford, as a location to facilitate development of a centre with higher education links. The development of this outreach centre is being examined in the context of my overall plans and in consultation with the Department of Finance.

The position in relation to courses currently being run is that Carlow Institute of Technology runs two courses in both Wexford and Kilkenny – the national certificate in business studies and the national certificate in office information systems. Student enrolment for these courses is 32 students in Wexford and 34 in Kilkenny. These activities are funded from the institute's block grant. My Department does not specify a particular allocation to the institute for the activities.

The National University of Ireland, Maynooth, also provides outreach courses in Kilkenny. Details obtained from the university in respect of the courses provided and current enrolments, are set out in the following table:

Course	Enrolments(headcount)	Enrolments(full-timeequivalent)
B.A. (Local and Community Studies)	76	51
NUI Certificates:
Local History	16	2
Training (Special Needs)	13	2
Training and Continuing Education	15	2
TotaL	120	57

The Higher Education Authority allocated £150,000 in December 2000 for the NUI Maynooth project. The Higher Education Authority has also, at the request of my Department, considered a detailed proposal from NUI Maynooth on a strategic plan for the development of Kilkenny outreach campus. Detailed advice was provided to my Department at the end of January 2001 and is being considered in the context of my overall plans in the area.