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.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As a previous Minister with responsibility in this area, I know Tipperary ETB to be an excellent and well-run organisation. I am aware of some of the exciting projects in which it is involved, including at the old barracks in Clonmel and the plans for a FET college of the future. I know the ETB to be a well-run organisation and would take very seriously any feedback it has for the Government on any supports it requires. I am happy to have further engagement on this issue and to speak with the Minister, Deputy Lawless, to reflect the views raised by the Deputy and other Tipperary Deputies.

My understanding is that not only has SOLAS, the national agency, not reduced its funding to Tipperary ETB, but we, through SOLAS, have increased its funding. To be clear, the Deputy has not asserted to the contrary. We have provided a budget for Tipperary ETB this year of €35.5 million through SOLAS, which is an extra €1.1 million on what it received last year. We are very much investing in further education and training opportunities in Tipperary ETB.

My understanding, going somewhat from memory, is that local training initiatives are one mechanism through which people access training. They generally operate on an annual funding cycle and are always reviewed by all ETBs at the end of the cycle. They look at a range of factors, including demand, funding, local strategic priorities and the like. They then decide whether to offer those courses again.

I understand that Tipperary ETB has not formally approved or scheduled any LTIs to operate beyond the conclusion of this year's initiatives and, therefore, no learners are formally enrolled for September. I am also aware that Tipperary ETB has advised that it is considering alternative options to support those learners who typically would have been served by LTIs. It has requested the contact details of any current or prospective LTI learners and intends to engage with each of them on personalised guidance and to consider the various educational options that might be available to them. I know it remains committed to that.

I believe there are over 9,600 unique learners in Tipperary who were supported last year through post leaving certificate courses, PLCs, apprenticeships, traineeships, Youthreach and adult and community education programmes.

I am happy to have further engagement with the Minister, Deputy Lawless, and SOLAS on the matter. There is a number of different pathways to achieve those training objectives. When Tipperary ETB has gone through its process, it will be interesting to see if it identifies any gaps and if it does, how the Government responds. It might be that the ETB is able to meet the education and training needs through a variety of other means. I am happy to keep in touch with the Deputy on the issue. I am satisfied at the moment that Tipperary ETB is going through a process and I look forward to the outcome of it.

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.

I thank the Deputy. I know the seriousness with which he views this issue. He has said it is a "central issue" and that is obviously how he feels about it. It will be interesting to see whether, through the range of courses provided by Tipperary ETB and the pathways available, it believes it can meet the needs of learners through other mechanisms or whether it will require LTIs to continue in the new year. On foot of the Deputy raising the issue, and it being raised a few times in the Dáil this week, I will ask the Minister, Deputy Lawless, to engage with SOLAS and Tipperary ETB, as I know he will be eager to do anyway. We will see how the situation progresses. We are very committed to the work of the ETB in Tipperary. I thank the staff of the ETB for the work they do. It is an organisation I have come to know reasonably well. I am pleased that we have increased in funding in 2025 compared with 2024. I expect we will continue to increase its funding and will look to provide more educational opportunities to Tipperary. I will keep in touch with the Deputy on the matter.