The local training initiatives, LTIs, run by Tipperary Education and Training Board, ETB, at Spafield family resource centre in Cashel, Knockanrawley centre in Tipperary town, the Cahir Development Association facility in Cahir and the Littleton community centre, have been abolished. This has an impact on the most vulnerable people in our society. This is unconscionable and wholly unacceptable. Tipperary Education and Training Board's funder, SOLAS, has left the board €1.5 million short of its required budget for Government-approved schemes, including expenditure on increased apprenticeship provision and the roll-out of new initiatives such as the national tertiary programme. There is also a failure to provide for the costs of the new apprenticeship centre in Carrick-on-Suir. Despite continued engagement with SOLAS, it has failed to provide the necessary and legitimate funding for the board. LTIs have provided transformative support for countless vulnerable young people and adults. The progression of students through these programmes speaks volumes. Many of them have faced significant barriers, ranging from family disadvantage to low confidence and profound health struggles. They found a safe and nurturing environment where they could truly thrive. The abolition of the courses removes a lifeline and an irreplaceable service for individuals and families in these communities. The courses are also a lifeline for young and lone parents who are trying to break free from generational poverty and build better lives for themselves and their children. The courses offer more than education. They offer hope, routine, purpose and a pathway to employment and independence. If these courses are taken away, we will not just lose a course; we will lose a network of connection and progress that helps to lift families out of poverty, reduce social isolation and promote inclusion and resilience in communities. The true measure of any society is how it deals with its most vulnerable individuals. I appeal to the Tánaiste to intervene directly with SOLAS to ensure these courses continue into the future, with effect from the start of the coming academic year in September.

Sentiment score: 0.05

I thank the Tánaiste for the reply. The local training initiative is a valuable service that has been in existence for more than 20 years. It provides a leaving certificate qualification over two academic years for students or trainees who are not suitable for mainstream education. It provides modules on subjects such as computers, communications, work experience and mathematics. The closure of the service and these courses affects 41 training places across the four sites. It also impacts six staff members who will lose their jobs. No alternative employment is being offered. They already find themselves disadvantaged because of the short-term contract nature of their employment. That means they have no redundancy entitlements and no contracts of indefinite duration. The costs involved in this are minuscule in the overall context. We are talking here about less than €300,000 to provide a service that is absolutely essential to the most vulnerable in our society. I am advised there are no alternatives to this course. There is certainly no local alternative in these towns. Any alternatives that might be available are not available to the trainees involved. I again urge the Tánaiste to intervene directly with SOLAS to increase the funding to ensure these courses continue.

Sentiment score: -0.05