Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for her comments and for all the work she does in engaging with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science on a whole range of issues related to the work of the Department, in Galway but also nationally. There are a couple of things here. The points made by the Senator highlight the need to overhaul the system we have in place in terms of PhD supports. We have been looking at this very intensively particularly in recent weeks but also in recent months. The situation is that my Department pays stipends through our agencies such as the Irish Research Council, the IRC, and Science Foundation Ireland, SFI, which are at an equivalent level of €18,500 each. Some PhD courses do not have a stipend. Some are paid directly by their institution such as those in the Higher Education Institutions, HEI, but that level is decided by the HEI from their block grant generally. Then some PhD students are paid through private sources or private funding received by their university. In relation to the specific issue raised by the Senator, for the health programmes, the HSE and the Department of Health fund to recruit. The Department of Education is not within my remit but I believe it is considering this for educational psychologists. I said this in the Dáil last night but the broader point I want to make is that as part of the review, we need to look at the fact that we do not actually have a minimum recommended stipend in Ireland. There are so many different types and there cannot be a minimum. I will pose the question as opposed to pre-empting the outcome of the review. Should there not be a floor for the level of stipend supports for all PhD students in Ireland? At the moment there is not. I looked at this in the context of the budget, even those funding schemes within my remit that I can provide financial assistance to, or at least easily provide financial assistance to, are not 100% clear either. The PhD review we are announcing this evening will be an opportunity to tease through those issues but on the specific point the Senator makes in relation to that relatively small number of students, the responsibility lies with the Department of Education. My understanding is that it is considering a model similar to that used by the Department of Health. I will ask officials in the Department of Education as a result of this exchange to interact with the Senator directly.