"Today marks another important day in my department’s commitment to supporting and enhancing capital infrastructure in the further education and training sector across the country and in particular here in Leitrim. The investment being announced today will help to enhance facilities for FET in Leitrim and contribute to meeting the education and training needs across the wider community."

"This newly developed facility will play a pivotal role in the provision of Youthreach services which plays such a key role in ensuring our young people remain engaged in education and training. This investment will support putting in place a caring, inclusive and supported environment in which learners will have the opportunity to develop their social and personal skills and gain qualifications.

"The investment here today speaks to the diverse services that our FET offers, the hope that it gives, the role it plays in building learner confidence and belief that the future is bright for all who engage in a learning journey. Capital investment in Youthreach and community based education recognises that there are many ways to engage and re-engage with education. Youthreach has helped countless young people in Ireland to develop their skills – both academic and social – and progress to further education or employment."

"I want to acknowledge the work of Mayo Sligo Leitrim ETB in getting us to this stage with this project. I also want commend the work that they do in providing, supporting and coordinating a comprehensive range of education, training and youth services across the Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim regions that are responsive to the needs of learners and local communities."

"Further Education & Training has a unique and special value both for learners and for our communities - and learners and communities in Leitrim deserve cutting edge facilities and equipment. This announcement of capital funding is a welcome step that will mean that FET facilities there reflect the modern, dynamic nature of FET provision in 2022.

"The ambitious scale of vision set out in the national FET strategy, Future FET: Transforming Learning, is being met by suitably ambitious investment. This funding will enable nationally coordinated and strategic action that will form the foundation of FET Colleges of the Future; greatly expand capacity; build up our national skills portfolio; strengthen pathways through and from FET; and most importantly, best serve the FET learners of today and tomorrow. This investment in capital is an investment in the future of FET – and most importantly, an investment in the future of the many learners in the region that it will directly benefit."

"It is a wonderful opportunity to be able to welcome the Minister for Further and Higher Education to Leitrim Youthreach. The Department of Further Education has supported our programmes greatly and being able to showcase the plans for future development in this facility is fantastic.

"The development of this start-of-the-art facility will be not only a valuable asset to Leitrim Youthreach but to the Leitrim College of FET. We look forward to welcoming Minister Harris back in the future once the development is completed."