Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister and the team from the brand-new Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. It is fantastic that we have this Department that is driving change and legislation, including the Higher Education Authority Bill 2022 which is ground-breaking legislation. It will drive funding in the third level sector.

It is great to see the detailed update the Minister gave to the committee. The €1,000 reduction in the registration fee provided for in the budget is extremely welcome. Parents and students have been given a deadline of the end of November to engage with their colleges and share their account details. I will also highlight that the SUSI application deadline is 3 November 2022 for any students who need to apply for that. The Minister is considering a review of that scheme as well. Hopefully the double payment will be made in December.

I was at a great event in Ballinasloe on Tuesday. The brand-new Technological University of the Shannon, TUS, in Athlone is establishing learning gates. I was not sure what a learning gate was. It is where students can come together and have a space to learn. Ballinasloe Area Community Development has a meeting room that students can access. They can access courses online and study in an environment where other students can also meet. The technological university will open 11 learning gates in the next few weeks and is even considering opening one in Dublin. It is phenomenal that we are seeing this outreach. I want to see campuses and centres of excellence in our regions, especially in Roscommon and east Galway, because that drives regional investment in our areas. It also drives excellence in academia because it engages and shows there is a focus. We need to see investment in the regions as well as in city centre locations and to work with different agencies in local areas to promote that. I am interested in the Minister's thoughts about regional development and how TUS has been able to do that.

Regarding PhDs, it is fantastic to see the review. Having worked in Science Foundation Ireland, SFI, I am aware of the challenges relating to supporting PhD and master's degree students. The Minister indicated the review will examine the status of PhD students, the stipends - of course €500 has been allocated in the budget - and international comparisons. Will the Minister provide a timeline? Is there a country that the Minister thinks manages PhDs best and is the one to look at? I am looking at the quality we have. Ireland ranks highly in expertise in many sectors and research areas through its principal investigators. Those principal investigators drive the funding that comes through SFI and the Irish Research Council, IRC, and then brings the PhD teams to Ireland to deliver and develop excellence here.

The Minister highlighted student accommodation as being one of the Department's key priorities, with a dedicated unit. I was delighted to hear about a 674-bedroom development when the Minister was visiting the brand-new University of Galway. Will he provide a timeline for that?

It is wonderful to hear about Funding the Future. The Minister stated the implementation team had been recruited. Will he update the committee on any outcomes from that?

I am happy to see the co-design between FET and HE. In relation to education and training boards, ETBs, I have a few questions about how the Department funds SOLAS which delivers FET and ETBs, but the Department of Education funds the administration and running of those organisations. Does the Minister have any comments on that? It can sometimes be a challenge in how we develop the staffing and capacity to deliver these courses, which the Minister stated is crucial, especially on the FET and HE side.