Mattie McGrath Urges Support for Rural Students and Apprenticeships

Minister Luke, I want to wish you and Minister Collins the very best in this very dynamic and interesting portfolio, I want to also say that the six-year students of last year and the first-year students of this year have had a very traumatic time, their families had a traumatic time, it hasn't been easy in the schools or on the third levels either, but there are difficulties and situations regarding non-return of fees, parents have been put to huge the pin of the collar to pay these fees and they pay them and I have fully experienced that the first year myself and a student last year, so I know the difficulties on that hand, but it's how difficult it is to study from home and work, so they will rise to the challenge and I believe in Mulan Owege Aga Tukic Siit. I also want to say to you Minister at the University of the South East I strongly support and we need that so badly, we also need Minister and applications before you by Tipperary County Council for relocation and development of the Tipperary Institute, LIT Tipperary to a new campus in the old Kikam Barracks and that's very badly needed to be progressed as well. I also would like to get a list of the apprenticeship because I believe that it must be broadened out, indeed these apprenticeships so badly in the building industry, in the farming agri industry and indeed in the plant fire industry and I've just spoke to Minister Connans a minute ago about it, because those areas I find it so difficult to get skilled operatives and people with degrees, so we must enhance and broaden the whole area of apprenticeships. I also want to say to you Minister, I welcome the review of Susie, I want to thank the officials in Susie and Geraldine in my office for dealing with them, for so many families and trying to assist and there needs to be a review of that 45 kilometre adjacent rule, because it can be so cruel, we heard the deputy earlier talking about a student would have to give you know 10 hours a day travelling to college for maybe four or five hours work in rural areas where you don't have public transport and they're being inhibited by that, so there are many areas, so I'm I promise you the support of your independence, you and Minister Collins group to work with you for the sake of students from rural Ireland especially, and all of Ireland but rural Ireland are handicapped because by the fact that they have poor broadband and poor rural transport and they need it, so our ministers if you could maybe answer some of those questions as I said and for both deputies I'd be very happy, but again as I said to I'm going to say to you, because they need our support and our help and they need it and they will be the leaders of tomorrow and into the future and they won't forget this time obviously, but I believe they'll rise over it. Thank you very much deputies, Minister. Deputy McGrath is right to end on a positive note because as tough as this time is our next generation we will bounce back from this and they will bounce back from that and we all need to support them in that regard. Deputy Collins and Deputy McGrath raised a very important issue in relation to student accommodation. I suppose I'd make a couple of points, in relation to campus owned, college owned accommodation, I expect universities, colleges to be flexible to give refunds for students who haven't been able to use their accommodation due to no fault of their own. I would note some students for a whole variety of reasons, legitimate reasons, have decided to take up their accommodation, perhaps they can't, don't have the space or the opportunity to learn at home. I do think we need much more publicly owned or campus owned accommodation, maybe coming forward with plans in that regard, I think we're still too reliant on the private market and that in many ways pits students against other people trying to rent accommodation. I would point out we've doubled the size of the student assistance fund and that's a fund for students who have fallen on particular hardship, there's 16 million euro in that fund this year, it's available through all college access offices and I'd encourage the deputies to direct their constituents in relation to that. I thank Deputy Collins for the point he made in relation to horticulture, I'll make some specific enquiries with the HEA and I'll come back to him in that regard and in relation to the issue of placements as well, I will come back to him in that regard too. I'm asking all of the, all of the bodies to provide flexibility and common sense in relation to placements so that nobody loses out at this time. Both deputies reference issue of broadband, I did announce on my opening statement, our plans to roll out edgy roam broadband to 90 more locations across the country, it is clearly a real issue. And on the Susie review, I take the point about the non-adjacent race and the impact of people in rural Ireland, there will be an opportunity for the deputies to make submissions when we open to public consultation very shortly. And Deputy McGrath, I will indeed look at that application that's come in from Tipperary and revert to you. Mr Collins? Thanks, John Corley. Deputy McGrath has rightly raised a query in relation to the range of apprenticeships, so I will furnish the deputy and indeed all deputies with the full range of approved apprenticeship schemes that are currently in place and available. And just also to say that we're anxious to create new apprenticeships in a whole range of new areas also, and that will be a central tenant of the apprenticeship action plan, which we refer to a number of times during this session, which will be published shortly. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Mayor. And, upon musical... A. snatcherhighhighhighhighhighhighhighhigh. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor New York Mayor. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor Dale McMillicке. a, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor Burke. APV, team. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. I'm Neil. Thank you very much.