Published: Wednesday, 8th September, 2010 5:00pm

Cavan Institute must be given extra funds to cope with demand

The revelation this week that some 5,000 applicants (and they are still coming in) have been received to date by Cavan Institute by young people seeking a place on a full-time course for the 2010/2011 academic year is a sad indictment of the current state of the economy and the jobs' market.

The college can only accept in the region of 1,580 students and has no allocation from the department, nor staffing levels, to accommodate any more students than that.

The current government cap on PLC courses that exists is a direct contradiction in terms of its aspirations to develop a smart economy and to prepare the country to take advantage of the upturn when it arrives.

As it stands, over 3,000 students will be turned away from Cavan Institute if something isn't urgently done to give the college the necessary funds to accommodate these young people - all of whom are willing to learn and want an education.

If they don't secure a place in Cavan (or anywhere else for that matter), what options are left to them? How many will end up on the dole, costing the state even more money? It is a false economy. How many others will take their chances and perhaps go travelling or back packing or emigrate? How many of these will ever return, even when the jobs' market improves?

The best investment that the government can make is in our young people - who are seeking a strong educational foundation. We need to look after our best and brightest and ensure they stay here; that we will have a highly skilled work force right here for when we need them.

It is also very unfair of the government to be reducing social welfare payments for young people aged 18 to 24 if they do not take up a reasonable offer of education or training. In the last budget, the government reduced payments to young people aged 18-19 years to only €100 and €150 for those aged 20-24 years. But these benefits will be cut by €25 a week and €35 a week respectively if the young people in question do not enter some sort of training.

Here are young people - in the case of Cavan Institute's waiting list - ready, and willing, and able to learn. Surely the government can't deny them a place on a course. It is money well spent. Similarly, they can't very well slash young people's benefits if there aren't sufficient places on PLC courses and similar courses nationwide that they can avail of.

Cavan Institute is one of the greatest success stories in this region. Having grown from humble beginnings, it is now the largest FE college in the country and contributes some €30m annually to the local economy.

Anne Marie Lacey, its director and Colm McEvoy, the CEO of Cavan VEC, should be given every support in their pleas to the Department of Education for a larger allocation.