Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 May 2024
29. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the current position regarding the development of the old Pretty Polly facility in Killarney as a new training centre of excellence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23281/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will be aware that over the course of 2023, Kerry ETB (KETB) were supported by SOLAS in developing their Preliminary Business Case (PBC) proposal for the old Pretty Polly site in Killarney under the FET College of the Future Major Projects fund. The development of a robust PBC is fundamental to the requirements of the Infrastructure Guidelines.
The Kerry proposal is one of twelve FET College of the Future major projects that submitted their business case proposals to SOLAS in January of this year. KETB have undertaken significant work in developing their proposal which outlines their infrastructural requirements for FET provision in their region.
In late April and early May of this year, meetings were held between SOLAS and DFHERIS officials and representatives from each of the twelve ETBs to further develop and refine proposals. Discussions at these meetings centred around ensuring that proposals are aligned with national and regional policies, are affordable and provide value for money. SOLAS will be in contact with all twelve ETBs shortly including KETB to provide feedback from these discussions. This feedback will allow ETBs to update their business cases, to bring a clearer focus on proposals, and to achieve the development of required priority infrastructure, that meet the needs of their current and future FET learners.
Once business cases are updated, they will be evaluated by SOLAS and my department and those proposals that meet the required evaluation criteria will move to the next stage of development, which is the Pre-tender – Project Design, Planning and Procurement Strategy Stage.
