I thank the Minister. We appreciate when the correct line Minister comes to the Chamber to take our Commencement matters. It is noted and we are very grateful.

The closure of Carlow College marks the loss of one of Ireland's oldest and most significant educational institutions. Founded in 1782, it has been part of the social, educational and cultural fabric of Carlow for generations. The Department's press release about the structure transition framed it as positive news but that simply does not reflect the reality of what is happening to the college community. Staff and students have been left blindsided. They are angry, disillusioned and in shock. What was framed as a merger has now suddenly become a closure and redundancy. What was the Minister's understanding of this merger? Was the closure of Carlow College always on the cards from the beginning of these discussions? Will the Minister tell us when the Department or South East Technological University, SETU, advised Carlow College it was not going to transfer into SETU?

Staff are being told that redundancy processes will begin as early as August. These people have dedicated years of service to the college. They have remained committed through the discussions about what many understood would be a transition involving SETU. Staff believed that there would be opportunities for transfer or redeployment as part of that process. Instead, some are facing imminent redundancy. I am particularly concerned by reports that staff are unable to access internal SETU recruitment opportunities despite the fact that SETU will ultimately take ownership of the campus. What are the financial implications for staff? Many have not received increments since 2019 or 2020. Some administrative and support staff earn little more than minimum wage despite years of dedicated service. There is significant anxiety regarding redundancy terms. Staff understood that enhanced arrangements would be available. They are now concerned that rather than enhanced redundancy, it might just be statutory redundancy that they are offered. This is for workers who have devoted their entire careers to this institution. It is an extremely worrying prospect.

What phase-out plan was put in place for this buy-out? Did Carlow College ask for students and staff to be transferred to SETU for the two years of the teach-out phase? Students were in the process of being offered places. They were really excited to take up new offers and now they have been left with nothing. One such student is 23-year-old Dylan Walsh who was offered a place to study psychology. Dylan has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, so travelling to another college outside of Carlow is simply not an option for him. He already faced many challenges completing his level 5 course when his carer was not available to turn up, forcing him to go home while studying. What is the solution in place for students like Dylan? Where can he study now? As Dylan said to me, his hard work did not pay off because of the selfishness of the system that is supposed to be for the students.

There is a whole cohort of students who cannot take up their places in Carlow College. Students who entered the college with an expectation of studying a three-year plus one-year degree to take them to level 8 are now not able to do so. They will have to leave with level 7, which has a real impact on their future employment opportunities, particularly for social care students. Was notice given to the CAO that Carlow College would not be in a position to accept students for the upcoming 2026-27 year and if that happened, when did it happen? The master's and HDip programmes have both been cancelled for new intake despite the fact that they would be completed within the remaining two-year window and would have contributed income to the college. I wonder why that was. It would be great to get clarity on that. There seems to be no credible reason. The entire Carlow College community has been utterly blindsided by this.

Will the Minister commit to engage directly with Carlow College, SETU and staff representatives to explore whether redeployment or transfer opportunities can still be facilitated? Will he consider examining whether affected staff can be granted access to internal recruitment processes with SETU? Will he seek assurances that redundancy arrangements are fair and reflect the years of service, including the impact of stalled increments and progression?

What has been presented and what I have outlined is not the win that Carlow College is being told it is. It is not the success story it is being portrayed as. It has caused so much upset and confusion and I hope the Minister will be able to give some answers to the Carlow College community today.

I welcome the opportunity to address this matter in the House. There has been a great deal of commentary about Carlow College and SETU since the announcement was made two weeks ago, although some of the central facts have been lost. I do not blame the Senator for that but it is important to recognise that the reality of this matter is actually far from how it is being represented in the media and elsewhere.

Carlow College came to Government seeking assistance. The institution had been operating at a deficit for several years. Its financial position had become unsustainable and, without an intervention, there was a very real risk the college would simply cease operations. If that had happened, students would have faced uncertainty about completing their courses, staff would have been left bereft, without any structural protections, and the future educational use of the campus would have been far from guaranteed. I hope the House will agree that this would have been an appalling vista. It is a scenario the Government set out to avoid. It is a scenario, that I, supported by colleagues in government, including the Taoiseach and Tánaiste, and with credit to the sterling work of the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, have succeeded in avoiding. Since that time, my Department has already provided in excess of €2.5 million in additional supports to Carlow College at its request. This is over and above funding provided through the student supports and fee payments. We did so because protecting learners and maintaining higher education in Carlow matters greatly to me and the Government.

Since being appointed as Minister I have engaged extensively on this issue. I have met representatives of Carlow College on at least three occasions, including a visit to the campus during my first month as Minister. I have also met them here in Leinster House and in Government Buildings on a number of occasions. I have met representatives of SETU separately on site and in this House. I have gladly participated in every meeting I have been invited to attend and have proactively arranged more meetings to ensure that this matter receives significant, high-level attention.

In addition to all of those meetings, I convened a dedicated working group involving representatives from both institutions, together with a State-appointed independent mediator. This group has also met on multiple occasions and has jointly produced the roadmap that has now been freely agreed to by both institutions and endorsed by both of their respective governing authorities.

Since Carlow College first approached the State in 2022 seeking support we have engaged constructively and responsibly. The college started out and remains, until this is finalised, a privately owned, church-operated college outside the State system. The ongoing work is to allow it to transition into the wider SETU framework. The roadmap is one that has been requested jointly, then negotiated, and subsequently endorsed by both colleges. The engagement has been guided by four primary objectives: to protect the interests of Carlow College students to ensure the completion of their programmes; to ensure clear, fair and transparent treatment of staff; to secure the future educational use of the campus in Carlow town; and to protect the heritage and legacy of Carlow College, recognising its contribution to education in the south east over many generations. The solution arrived at is one that safeguards current students, secures the long-term future of the campus and ensures the building will remain in educational use. It provides a pathway for staff to be treated fairly through agreed redundancy arrangements, with redeployment opportunities where possible, and through engagement as is appropriate with the representative bodies, including the trade unions, which my officials are already doing.

The fact is that the Government stepped in to prevent a disorderly collapse and replaced uncertainty, fear and doubt with a structured and sustainable future. The teach-out arrangement has been agreed between the two colleges and will work through to 2028. The overriding priority is that all current students will be able to complete their studies and graduate as planned. If we had not taken decisive action and engaged extensively over the past 18 months or more, all parties would be in a far worse position today.

A vote has been called in the Dáil Chamber so we will finish up and suspend in a minute. I welcome guests from Carlow of the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, who is waiting in the wings to step in for the next Commencement matter.

I thank the Minister and I take from his contribution that college management was included in the pathway and roadmap the entire time. The question is whether union representatives were included only recently or were they there throughout the discussions. Staff have been told there will not be pathways for them through SETU and its Carlow campus will not be offering the humanity and arts courses which Carlow College has. They are being told it is redundancy only and there are not suitable pathways for them.

I also have a question about the CAO. When did the CAO know that Carlow College would not be accepting new students for the 2026-27 intake? Students had been applying via the CAO. Can we have guarantees that internal recruitment processes for SETU will be open to academic staff from Carlow College? What specific redeployment and transfer opportunities will be facilitated by the Department? While I appreciate entirely that the Minister has said the management of Carlow College was on board throughout this discussion, the gap remains that staff very much were not and for the 87 staff who were not involved, this is brand new and shocking to them. It is like being hit by a bus for a lot of the staff. For a lot of students also it has come completely out of the blue.

It is very surprising and disappointing for me to hear this because I visited the college and there was local media coverage of it on numerous occasions in the past. The Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, has been highly engaged on the issue with all stakeholders. However, it is a fact that until this transfer completes, Carlow College remains a privately operated institution outside of the State system and it has autonomy over all matters, including staff, public relations and employment. It is important that every student will be allowed to continue their training and to complete and graduate as expected.

Furthermore, it is important to say that a significant sum of money will be paid by the State through the Department to Carlow College in consideration of the transfer of its campus to SETU, and it is fully expected and anticipated that this will be made available as part of the restructuring process when consideration is being made for staff. This will happen in the appropriate way through the representative bodies and the trade unions. It was not for me as Minister to do so but I strongly encouraged and advocated for full staff engagement at all times, including formally and in writing over the past two years. I have stressed on multiple occasions the importance of transparent and ongoing engagement with staff, which I was assured was happening.

It is important that we protect the staff and the students and that we secure the future use of the building as an education facility in Carlow town, and all three of these objectives have been accomplished thanks to me, the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, and other active and constructive stakeholders. I thank all involved, including the Carlow College and SETU governing teams, for their very strong work and intensive engagement to make this happen and to protect the future for learners, for the institution and for Carlow town.

As a vote has been called in the Dáil and we need to suspend so the Minister can attend.

I propose that the House be suspended for the duration of the vote in the Dáil.

Is that agreed? Agreed.