I join colleagues, including Senator Michael Mullins and others, in welcoming the news of the new jobs being created in Athenry by Apple. It is great news for the west. I also welcome the news that the ESB has taken on 300 apprentices in the midlands. In order to attract good quality, top-class jobs we need top quality, clean water and a similar development has occurred in Sligo where AbbVie has taken on a number of new people in recent times because there was a good supply of good quality clean water.

I raise an issue I have raised before in the House relating to rates on small businesses in rural Ireland, in particular on pubs. I believe some pubs in villages are being treated very unfairly. I know of a pub which has been rated very high, on a square footage basis, compared with other pubs in the same town, even though it is doing very similar trade because some work has been done to upgrade the building. The people running the business are unable to pay the huge rates being charged and with rural Ireland dying on its feet and people not going to pubs as much as they used to, this has to be looked at and changed into the future. We must do something.

I join colleagues in welcoming the news from Apple that it is to set up a new facility in Athenry not too far from the village of Craughwell in Galway - a well named village. I am sure that the new impetus in the quest to drive industry to the west is in no way attributable to my colleagues, the Independent Deputies from that area. I am sure the Government side will forgive me for saying this.

I seek a debate on the role the further education sector has in driving this type of industry. Prior to coming to this House I was involved for some 20 years in developing further education courses and spent some time as a member of an international committee on information technology training, CompTia. One of the huge problems in providing courses to meet the demands of ever-changing technology is the cost involved in putting infrastructure in place. For example, the creation of a simple cloud computing course for 25 or more students can cost approximately €150,000 for the hardware alone. Then there is the cost of providing in-service training for the teachers who will deliver those courses and time is also an issue. Ireland is uniquely placed, because of our climate, to develop a whole range of services in the cloud industry and to support cloud industries. To be fair to IDA Ireland and the Government, the news about Athenry is a great achievement for Galway and the west but if we are to continue to develop this industry we need to put in place the requisite second tier education facilities. We have a lot for which to thank GMIT and NUIG in the matter of bringing Apple to Galway but there needs to be a second tier of education and that will be provided by the SOLAS-funded further education sector. I would like a debate at some stage in the near future on the development of further education as a separate, distinct tier within the education system.

I join colleagues in welcoming the decision by Apple to develop the facility near Athenry. It is important to give recognition to Apple for the contribution it has made to economic development of Cork where it employs more than 4,000 people. It is a huge employer and has played a major part in the Cork region. I want to kill the rumour that it moved to Athenry because we overheat in Cork from time to time; I can assure everyone that is not the case. As always Apple approaches projects such as this in a professional manner and has been good at looking after its employees down through the years.

I raise an issue about which I am very concerned, having raised it previously about four weeks ago. I am concerned about nurses who have trained abroad who want to come back and work in Ireland. This morning I received a call from a person who was in contact with me before Christmas who applied to register with An Bord Altranais in order to practise in Ireland. The person has a job but cannot take it up because of not being registered. I understand that some people who applied in November 2014 are still not registered with An Bord Altranais. I am extremely concerned that on the one hand we are encouraging people to come back to work in the health service, yet we have an agency that is not facilitating their return. I ask the Acting Leader to bring the matter to the attention of the Minister and invite him to come to the House for a debate at the earliest possible opportunity. The matter is of serious concern and it needs to be dealt with immediately.

I second the amendment to the Order of Business proposed by my colleague, Senator Averil Power.

It never occurred to me until last weekend the impact a song can have on the future economic success of a particular area. Having said that, a monument should be erected to Pete St. John who wrote "The Fields of Athenry", as one of the fields is going to be used to create much needed employment in that part of the west which we all welcome. I am afraid "Lovely Leitrim" did not have the same impact in Country Leitrim in terms of development but maybe there is still hope that the Government might move in that direction.

On the same weekend that the Fine Gael Party was in Castlebar the national bus company was proposing the cancellation of yet another dimension to the life of rural Ireland. I fail to understand how anybody would stand over the most recent announcement. I appreciate that Bus Éireann must pay its way. I said previously, in respect of the withdrawal of similar services from the towns of Drumsna and Rooskey in my home county on the N4 and also in association with similar small towns in east Mayo last year, if the concept of the support of bus services is that they are subsidised, there is a social dimension and they are not necessarily seen as money making machines by the Government. Surely the Government has a moral obligation to ensure it does not operate a two-tier economy. There is no public service transport facility in the world that is not subsidised by the relevant Government. It is fine in terms of transport services if one happens to live in certain parts of the country but if one lives in other parts which are less populated one will be denied services. I say this coming from a position of strength because in County Leitrim we have seen a continual withdrawal of bus services and public services. Around the town of Ballinamore there is no public service to link it to any part of either west Cavan, Longford and, ultimately, Dublin. Will the Acting Leader invite the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to the House to discuss the Government's commitment, if any, to ensuring rural bus services are maintained? If they cannot be maintained by Bus Éireann, the National Transport Authority which has entered the fray in respect the recent controversy has stated it would consider subsidising some routes.

There should be some sort of joined-up thinking in this matter. In circumstances where Bus Éireann either cannot or will not provide services, then feeder services to larger towns should be provided by the National Transport Authority under the rural lift programme.