Danny Healy-Rae urges rural broadband, warns on student housing
Danny Healy-Rae spoke about rural student supports, focusing on broadband, accommodation and apprenticeships. He warned that rural students are being forced to travel for connectivity, urged timely clarity on college openings and called for more training places and apprenticeships.
Rural broadband and student access
He highlighted a lack of broadband in rural areas that is forcing students to travel to hubs or neighbours to access courses and asked the minister to recognise and address those difficulties.
Accommodation uncertainty for students
He recalled last year’s cases where students secured and paid for accommodation only to find colleges did not open, and he urged that this must not happen again and that students be given timely information on the status of college openings.
Demand for more college places
He repeated that “we do need more places” and noted that students who completed the Leaving Cert late last year, as well as those sitting it this year, will be coming online and will require additional places.
Apprenticeships and skills shortages
He welcomed a new emphasis on apprenticeships and asked the minister to explore and promote them, citing carpentry, plume and electricians as examples. He stressed a serious shortage of apprentices across trades and argued they are needed for house building and infrastructure.
Direct appeal to the minister
He urged the minister to be "on the ball" this year, to advise students promptly and to encourage apprenticeships so the economy can continue building and improving infrastructure.
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Thank you very much, Chairman. Minister, I too want to highlight the lack of broadband in rural areas to help students and I do know that several of them are travelling to hubs and to neighbours that would have broadband or whatever to try and to access their courses and I want you to recognise that, that they're having difficulty in rural places and the other thing, Minister, that I want to ask you and I'm asking you to be on the ball this year, when are lifted students at, you know, to access accommodation because we had the story last year where students sought out accommodation, got it, paid for it and then when they went up there, the colleges didn't open at all, so we can't have that happening again, Minister, and I appreciate that you will let the students know timely as to what the scenario will be We do need more places, we do need more places, as you know, as you know, Minister, students completed the Leaving Cert late last year and those students are coming, will be coming online as well with those that will be sitting the Leaving Cert this year I want to acknowledge and I want to acknowledge and appreciate the new dimension for apprenticeships and I want you to explore that and advise students that there are, there is a need for apprenticeships, whether it is for carpentry or whether it is for plume or electricians or whatever, we do need those for house building or whatever, we do need those for house building and I have to say there is a serious shortage in all areas of apprenticeships and we need to encourage students to go that way because we need them if our economy is to stay going, if we are going to stay building houses and improving our infrastructure, we need apprenticeships in all areas and I stress that to you Minister and thank you very much. Thank you.
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