Brendan Smith demands major investment for Cavan Institute

Minister, as you know, there was a welcome commitment in the National Development Plan to increase capital investment in the further education sector. I had the opportunity to speak with you on a number of occasions regarding the needs of Cavan Institute and the welcome increase in demand for places in the further education sector, so I would hope that you would be in a position to announce a substantial investment in the provision of upgraded accommodation at our Colleges of further education and also new build as well. The National Development Plan commits to a step up in investment in further education and training infrastructure and, as my colleague Minister Collins outlined under plans being developed by my department, it is projected that expenditure will increase from less than £20 million in capital funding for further education and training in 2020 to approximately £100 million a year by 2025. So that is just to give you a sense of the stepped increase. Presently there are over 35 projects in the pipeline for delivery in 2022 and they are at various stages of project lifecycle classified into two main areas, capital projects and emergency health and safety works. The project range includes refurbishment and renovation works, civil works addressing serious access issues, roof repairs, mechanical and electrical projects with a focus on safety issues and emergency replacements. An apprenticeship-specific capital grant scheme was introduced for last year and this year. This scheme has provided €10 million for further education and training and €10 million for higher education and is jointly administered by SULLIS and the HEA. I am pleased to advise Deputy Smith that I will very shortly in the coming days be announcing a new and significantly more ambitious phase of capital investment in the further education and training sector. This will be a capital call. I should be clear on that. It will be an invitation for projects to come forward. This will provide the ETBs with a framework to put forward projects in 2022 to upgrade and enhance the FET strategy and also advance the priorities in our future FET strategy as well. I would expect significant news in terms of a step in terms of a step increase in capital investment from government for further education and training. It will be then, from a process point of view, for the ETBs and institutes to come forward. Thank you Minister for his positive message in regard to increased investment. We had a new building complex provided in CAVAN in 2005. CAVAN Institute was the first dedicated post-leaf and certificate college in the country. At that time, I and other public representatives were very much involved with the local authority in the transfer of substantial lands at that particular location to enable the building of the college at that time. There is an increased demand for space and accommodation and what I want to see is new permanent accommodation. As a layperson, I believe that the proper location for that would be adjacent to the existing building, the existing main building of the college. There is plenty of space there and it would keep the college in the town. The minister has been a very successful college and one of the leading further education providers in the country, as you know. We spoke previously in this house and also the Taoiseach has committed to further intensification in the provision of further education on an all Ireland and cross-border basis. So I think the like of CAVAN can be a key provider with geographical location in ensuring that we step up that collaboration. We have it on an ad hoc basis but we want it structured and that will bring benefits to students on both sides of the border and throughout all of our island. Thank you. I very much enjoyed my visit to CAVAN Institute and was extremely impressed by what I saw and that followed on obviously from a virtual meeting we had with CAVAN Institute. So I know you know that this is a project that I genuinely am taking a very personal and active interest in. I will say this. There were commitments made to CAVAN Institute and there were commitments made to Dunboyne College and I believe those commitments need to be honoured in addition to any future capital calls that may be made for new projects. I would point out, as Deputy Smith pointed out, the multi-location piece I think is a piece that does need to be resolved. Quite frankly, I think it is important that we look at how there can be consolidation of the development of one site. I do think there is a piece of work that needs to be done in that regard and what I will do rather than getting into the detail of that now, I think what would be useful is if perhaps OROCTHIS members from CAVAN and Monaghan could meet with me and the likes and we could look at how we could make further progress or perhaps indeed I could visit CAVAN again shortly. Thank you. Thank you Mr Smith. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Minister, very high standards were set in CAVAN Institute from the Wargo. I had the privilege of being the first chairman of the first board of management of that college. So it has carried on a very fine tradition in ensuring that any public representative who visits the college would get a very warm welcome, particularly a minister who will be coming to make an announcement in regard to major investment in it in the future as well. so there will always be a very strong Cade-Mita-Folge minister and the money will be put to good use. Cavanmon and ETB, in anticipation of your department's rollout of a new capital investment programme, they are preparing a proposal that will meet with the criteria and I believe, as I said to you privately, both here in this house and in Cavan that day, I believe that the preferred location is to have as much of the accommodation of the college on one site. There is plenty of space there, thanks to the successful negotiations between the then County Cavan VEC and the County Council at that time, that a very prime piece of land, practically in the town, was made available to the VEC to develop that college and we want the further expansion of it to ensure that we continue to grow and have adequate accommodation for the students attending. Thank you Agha Hirlig.