2025-12-11

204. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the way in which his Department is positioning Ireland’s education, research and skills system as the “economic Ministry” he often refers to and to that end driving national competitiveness, productivity and long-term prosperity. [67812/25]

As the title of the Minister's Department demonstrates, it has a very broad remit. Of course, education, research and innovation are the key elements in the bedrock of any economy. Importantly, I welcome the fact that the Minister is supporting further and higher education throughout the regions. When the late President Patrick Hillery, as a member of the Fianna Fáil Government in the 1960s, laid out the vision and strategy for the development of the regional technical colleges, it was always on the basis of bringing education to the regions and ensuring they would derive benefits and drive on the economy to eliminate the disparity in economic development that existed at national level at that time.

I thank the Deputy. I thank him also for the invitation to Cavan recently. I was delighted to be able to take that up. We visited the Cavan Institute, where we saw, among other things, the original equipment manufacturing, OEM, apprentices at work on the advanced manufacturing side. We also saw the students at Youthreach, which is a very critical intervention with youth. From there, I went to Monaghan Institute and finished the day in the Atlantic Technological University, ATU, in Letterkenny, where we launched the new vet school. That, as just a snapshot of a day visiting key sites, shows the activity and investment going on in the north west alone by Youthreach and interventions with disadvantaged learners - giving them an opportunity to succeed - right through to the new professionals being created by the vet school in ATU. It is very much a snapshot of the opportunity that is available through education. Our future prosperity depends on our ability to compete globally and lead out as a small, advanced knowledge economy. We are a knowledge and skills economy. People are our greatest natural asset. I see my job, as Minister in this brief, as unlocking that potential. People have the talent, skills and knowledge, and they need to impart them. We need to nurture it and allow them to reach their full potential. That is key to our economic success, particularly in a changing world with trade, tariffs and a number of unknowns. What we do control and have as a known is our people and talent, and being able to nurture that. Just last week, I launched the Infreastruchtúr don nuálaíocht, staidéir, páirtíocht, imscrúdú, rath eacnamaíochta agus eolaíocht, INSPIRE, programme, a €750 million commitment to research and innovation funding in the State. It is unprecedented in recent years. It is a successor programme to the PRTLI, which was successful at the start of the century in driving on our economic position as well. I want to acknowledge that Deputy Smith was a member of the Government in 2010 that committed to the PRTLI programme at a time when economic conditions were difficult, to say the least, and the wolf was at the door. That Government had the foresight and belief to commit to that again. Unfortunately, after that point, it lay fallow for some years until I came to office. It has now been relaunched with a €750 million fund to again drive on our economic prosperity and research and innovation commitment.

I was very glad that the Minister was able to accept my invitation to attend Cavan Institute and see it first hand, meeting the students, staff and board of management. There is a vibrancy to Cavan Institute and also Cavan Youthreach. Oftentimes, Youthreach does not get the attention it deserves. In Cavan and Monaghan, I see it as a pathway to further education and on to higher education as well. I was delighted that day in Cavan that the Minister was able to state very clearly that he was very anxious to advance the proposal to provide major additional permanent accommodation at the institute's existing campus at Cathedral Road, Cavan. I have a particular affinity with Cavan Institute. I was involved from the beginning with its establishment and I was the chair of the first board of management. I have seen it go from strength to strength and, at all times, the institute has worked in partnership with local enterprise and the local community. It is about working together, and I want to see, as the Minister has heard me say before, more co-operation on an all-Ireland basis in relation to the provision of further education.

Absolutely. The opportunity that Cavan provides was very evident on the day of my visit. There is a great opportunity to continue to expand educational provision there on site at the Cavan Institute. That would be encompassed by the college of the future programme, which I am working out through the national development plan. I am examining progress on that at the moment but I would be confident that will be one of the projects that will do well from the fund. On the all-island dimension, I was pleased to be able to announce the collaboration between Queen's University Belfast and Dundalk Institute of Technology very recently. I spoke to both colleges a number of times in relation to this and I am very keen that we advance that expeditiously. There is ambitious programme shared by both colleges. It is fair to say that the reaction to the first all-island university has been extremely positive and strong across the board. That all-island dimension to education and our schools is so important.

I was delighted at the Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science a number of weeks ago when the Minister was able to tell us about the progress made in developing the strategic partnership between Dundalk Institute of Technology and Queen's University. The Minister was able to say the words, "We will have an all-Ireland university". Those of us, particularly from the Border region, who have advocated for this development were thrilled. Practical things are being done. We are not talking about waving flags and citizens' assemblies. We have the Minister doing practical things. In the past, a former president of Dundalk Institute of Technology, Dr. Michael Mulvey, along with the then chair of the board of governors Councillor Clifford Kelly put the idea forward of more collaboration with education institutions in Northern Ireland and identified Queen's University as a very worthwhile potential partner for Dundalk Institute of Technology. Those people did some preparatory work. As a former member of the board of governors of Dundalk Institute of Technology, Senator Diarmuid Wilson was very supportive of the work of Councillor Clifford Kelly and Dr. Michael Mulvey when they were advocating for that all-Ireland cross-Border co-operation when it was not as fashionable as it is today.

All-Ireland entities are always fashionable in my household. We can have all the citizens' assemblies and deliberate as much as we want to but doing it for real is what counts and that is what we are doing here. There is a very ambitious timetable to make that collaboration come together. I intend to bring legislation through the Houses in the new year to set out the mechanics of how it will be enabled. It is important that Dundalk Institute of Technology continues to enjoy strong autonomy as part of the HEA landscape while being a fully fledged university institute and college of Queen's University with all the powers to award degrees conferred by Queen's University as part of that. Both entities will benefit. Queen's University will also benefit significantly from the collaboration. There are specialties, disciplines and knowledge in each institution that can be shared and benefited from. I always say "ní neart go cur le chéile" - we are stronger together and that is evident in this all-Ireland collaboration.

Before I call on Deputy Connolly, I welcome to the Public Gallery the pupils from Kilberry National School in Athy. They are from our great county of Kildare. They are very welcome and I hope they enjoy their day.