Results 201-220 of 6,887 for speaker:James Lawless

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: SOLAS has advised that there are no current plans for apprenticeship expansion in Roscommon. Information on apprenticeship provision for specific counties is not available. The statistical and other information held by SOLAS is tied to the wider Education and Training Board (ETB) region. In this case, that would be Galway and Roscommon ETB (GRETB). At present, 11 apprenticeship programmes...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capital Expenditure Programme (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: My Department works collaboratively with all Higher Education Institutions and Education and Training Boards on the development of capital projects in line with their established masterplans. In 2024, my Department approved the creation of a new Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Masters in Pharmacy degree courses at the South East Technological University (SETU). SETU’s business...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: In each of the years 2024 and to date in 2025, City of Dublin Education and Training Board employed six full-time and two part-time instructors to conduct Commis Chef Apprenticeship training. These figures are broken down by year, full- and part-time instructors, and training centre location in tabular form below. City of Dublin Education and Training Board Training Centre ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Reviews (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are autonomous institutions responsible for their own academic affairs including in relation to programme design and mode of delivery. As autonomous bodies the internal disbursement of funding, including the funding and expansion of student services, is a matter for the individual institution. As such, neither myself nor my Department have a role in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: The Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme (GOIP) is unique in the Irish research landscape and complements other channels for funded postgraduate education in the Irish ecosystem. Its objective is to provide individual, prestigious awards for excellent research in the name of the applicant and inclusive of all disciplines. The programme drives bottom-up, researcher-driven...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: The Student Part-Time Fee Scheme covers the fees of eligible part-time students attending specified undergraduate courses leading to a major award with a minimum average of 30 credits and maximum of 50 credits per academic year. The scheme was developed to provide support for more flexible forms of learning to students attending specified undergraduate courses who are considered...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Courses Accreditation (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are autonomous bodies responsible for their own academic affairs, including the programmes they offer. Medical Scientist is a distinct healthcare profession in which individuals work in hospital laboratories to assist with diagnosis. It is separate from the academic discipline of biomedical science. For example, a student may pursue a degree in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: Education and Training Boards (ETBs) support community groups by funding training projects aimed at helping individuals facing exclusion or labour market disadvantage. One such training project is the Local Training Initiative (LTI). LTIs are delivered by third-party providers, tailored to meet specific community needs. They operate on an annual funding cycle, aligned with the academic...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the awarding authority, SUSI to determine. Postgraduate students who meet all the conditions of the Student Grant Scheme including a means test may become eligible for a maintenance and/or fee grant/contribution. Maintenance grants for postgraduate students were restored in September 2024 for the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: The CAO is an independent body that processes applications to undergraduate programmes on behalf of the higher education sector in Ireland. Entry points for courses fluctuate annually as they are not set by institutions but are instead determined by the number of places available in a given course, the volume of applicants, and the grades achieved by those applicants. CAO applications...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: My officials have confirmed with your office that this question relates to Louth and Meath Education and Training Board. The allocation of funding to individual Education and Training Boards is a matter for SOLAS, in line with its statutory remit under the Further Education and Training Act, 2013. As the statutory authority for Further Education and Training (FET), SOLAS is responsible for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: My Department has sought this data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in the UK. Allowing for variation in programme titles, the attached tables (number of domiciled students from Ireland in Northern Ireland universities and number of domiciled students from Ireland in Rest of UK (England, Scotland and Wales) universities) provides the data. In July 2021, a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: The information requested by the Deputy is contained in the attached spreadsheet. The data was sourced from the Higher Education Authority Student Records System and is the most recent available. The Deputy should note that, in line with good practice regarding statistical confidentiality, all numbers are rounded to the nearest five. The Student Records System does not record citizenship but...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are autonomous with regard to academic affairs, including in relation to the programmes on offer. When a need arises in a particular discipline, my Department consults with the relevant Department to determine the appropriate course of action. In the case of disciplines such as orthotics this would be the Department of Health. Over the last number of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Properties (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: My Department does not own or operate any properties. All of my Department's official locations are sites owned or operated by the OPW in St. Stephen's Green (HQ), Marlborough Street (shared site) and Tullamore (shared site). The information in respect of aegis bodies, within the scope of the Deputy’s question, is not held by my Department. Contact details for these bodies are set...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: The subject of this PQ does not fall under my remit as this is a matter for the Minister for Education and Youth as she is the Minister with statutory responsibility for ETBs. My officials have been in contact with her Department and they would be happy to respond to you if you contact them directly.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: My Department is committed to supporting individuals in accessing and succeeding in Further Education and Training (FET) programmes. It is the responsibility of each Education and Training Board (ETB) to plan and deliver its services throughout the year, taking into account their allocated budgets and the specific needs of their local communities in line with its functions set out in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Inquiries (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: During my visit to Singapore, I engaged with a range of organisations and stakeholders. Unfortunately, due to scheduling constraints, I was not able to visit the National University of Singapore on this occasion.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Reviews (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) is the national awarding body for further education and training and most private higher education providers. QQI works in partnership with providers and stakeholders to develop and maintain award standards. In line with the Outline Action Plan for Review and Renewal of QQI Common Award Standards...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (8 Sep 2025)

James Lawless: Apprentices are not charged a fee to take up an apprenticeship programme. When attending Higher Education Institutions, a student contribution is paid by all students, including apprentices. In Budgets 2023 and 2024, a once-off reduction of 33% of this contribution as part of a cost-of-living package for students was announced. The measure cost €3.8 million in both years and was...