Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the committee for the opportunity to contribute to its consideration of this Department’s Revised Estimates. I am conscious that I have only five minutes to deliver my opening statement. I will, therefore, give a very brief overview of the Revised Estimates for my Department for 2022.

The Revised Estimate for Vote 45 that is before the committee now provides for a net allocation of €2.9 billion, representing a gross allocation of €3 billion reduced by appropriations-in-aid of €76 million. When taken with the National Training Fund expenditure of €765 million, the gross allocation for our Department in 2022 increases to €3.7 billion.

The Vote 45 allocation comprises the following key elements: a core allocation of more than €2.9 billion to meet the various requirements of the Department in the areas of further and higher education, research innovation and science; temporary Covid funding of €20 million at budget 2021 to fund increased demand for Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grants in the face of the ongoing pandemic; temporary funding of €19 million to support education and training reform for new and future technological universities under Ireland’s national recovery and resilience plan; and temporary funding of €3.5 million through the Brexit Adjustment Reserve to address the impact of Brexit on the Erasmus scheme. The Department’s capital ceiling has also increased and funding was provided to meet the costs associated with the public sector Building Momentum pay deal.

Some 47% of the Department’s gross Vote is allocated to pay and pensions, reflecting the crucial work public servants are carrying out in the further and higher education system and in the research, innovation and science sector. This Department provides the funding for more than 26,000 public servants and 11,000 public service pensioners.

Excluding temporary adjustments and funding, the core increase year-on-year for my Department’s Vote is 8%, or €204 million. This increased from additional funding received during budget 2022, allowing this Department to progress major priorities.

First, we are making a significant investment in the higher education sector, including funding for increased undergraduate places to support leaving certificate students and meet Ireland’s demographic needs. In 2022, funding for the higher education sector increases to €2.1 billion, the highest it has ever been, and higher even than peak funding levels in 2008. This is only a start and my Department will be publishing the consultant report under the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support, DG REFORM, programme on sustainable future funding of the tertiary system later this year.

Second, recognising that the levels of support for students are out of step with the costs of going to college, this Department increased student supports in order to address increased cost of living. The SUSI review will make key recommendations on how to improve the SUSI grant scheme and this report will be brought to Government alongside the future funding report shortly.

Finally, the impact of the pandemic has fundamentally changed the way we all live and work. Industries are crying out for staff, including digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, construction, transport, logistics, climate sustainability and many more. In 2022, we have significantly invested in upskilling, reskilling and apprenticeship in order to help address the significant workplace change associated with digitalisation, automation and climate change, whose impacts are expected to increase in the coming years.

I trust and hope that this overview is of assistance to the committee. I am happy to discuss this in more detail and I commend the Revised Estimate to the committee.