Fine Gael TD for Limerick, Patrick O’Donovan, has called for an investigation by the Oireachtas Committee on Transport into the events leading up to the closure of the Pilot Training College in Waterford.
Deputy O’Donovan, who is a member of the Committee, called for the investigation to take place during this week’s Committee meeting. 350 students were affected by the collapse of the training courses run by the college in the United States.
“We must do all we can to prevent a situation like this occurring again. I believe that a full and forensic investigation will bring clarity to what has occurred here and hopefully help prevent a recurrence of this situation.”
“The situation that unfolded during the summer is highly unsatisfactory and a lot of issues remain unresolved. We need to look at why fees continued to be taken from trainees in the months before the Florida Institute of Technology ended its deal with the Waterford based college.”
“The investigation should also address whether the Minister for Transport can make an offer of alternative training or compensation to the students involved.”
I believe that on conclusion of an investigation, which should have a fixed time frame, that the Committee could be able to bring forward recommendations to Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar to ensure that situations like this do not happen again.”