Macra na Feirme seeks urgent meeting with Minister Harris over extending Covid education fund to Agriculture students

Macra na Feirme is seeking an urgent meeting with Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris to discuss extending the recently announced Covid education fund to students of agricultural colleges.

The fund enables students to purchase laptops, tablets and internet connectivity for remote learning. Teagasc colleges have almost 6,000 students and these students have the exact same technological needs as university and institute of technology students. 

On a videocall earlier today representatives from Macra na Feirme met with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Dara Calleary, Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity, Pippa Hackett, and Minister of State for Research & Development, Farm Safety and New Market Development, Martin Heydon to discuss the matters of importance to young farmers.

During this meeting Shane Fitzgerald, Macra na Feirme Agricultural Affairs Chairperson, noted the shortcoming in the education fund and urged Minister Calleary to seek access to the fund for agriculture students.

“Students in agricultural colleges are facing the same barriers and challenges as those in universities and institutes of technology. These students cannot be left without support” said Fitzgerald.