Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As is Deputy Conway-Walsh, I am keenly aware of the pressure felt by students applying to enter higher education. I assure her and the House that I am taking action to relieve these pressures.

I requested quite some time ago that my officials would engage with the higher education sector on the creation of additional places in, as the Deputy rightly says, key areas as identified by our skills architecture and, as she also said, in in-demand areas. These engagements are at a very advanced stage. I can inform her that we hope to create places in areas of acute skills need such as healthcare, construction and green skills. However it is important to create these places in a sustainable way, cognisant of the expanded facilities, lecturing expertise and clinical and other placements needed, and to do so in areas that open up continuing career opportunities for learners.

In looking to increase capacity in tertiary education it is vital that we take a whole-of-system approach which covers further education and apprenticeships as well as higher education programmes. I have heard legitimate commentary on this in recent months. We must support a balanced further and higher education system that has a multitude of pathways for learners to follow.

I assure the Deputy there will be additional places in the in-demand areas. We are trying to take a more targeted approach this year than in previous years. I expect to be in a position very shortly to update the Government on the outcome of the engagements with higher education institutions. I should also flag, as I have referenced, that a number of these in-demand areas require clinical placements. As the Deputy can imagine, there has been a lot of engagement between my Department and other relevant Departments and agencies, for example, the Department of Health and the HSE with regard to medicine places. I am pleased to report very good progress on this. In the coming weeks we will be in a position to provide the detail on the number of additional places and where they will be.

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