Results 281-300 of 6,887 for speaker:James Lawless

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Costs (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I propose to take Questions Nos. 3375 and 3376 together. I am committed to easing the financial burden on students and families by reducing the cost of education in a sustainable, equitable and targeted way. In recent years, a once-off €1,000 reduction to this contribution has been provided for as part of cost-of-living packages for students over the last three budgets. These...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: From 2021 to mid July 2025, the total amount spent by the Minister and all Department officials on foreign and domestic travel and subsistence may be found below in tabular form: Year Total 2021 €82,860.73 2022 €226,009.63 2023 €352,414.13 2024* ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Programme for Government (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I recognise that some students and their families can face obstacles when navigating the third-level education system, particularly those accessing it for the first time or those who may require additional supports. The volume and fragmentation of information available can make it difficult to develop a clear and comprehensive understanding of the options on offer. Ensuring that students have...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Projects (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I propose to take Questions Nos. 3379 and 3380 together. It has been a longstanding objective of my Department, based on the findings of the , to strengthen the provision of information and guidance around career decision making. An Oversight Group examining a Single Portal for Careers and Skills Information was established in November 2022. The work of the group has concluded with a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: Total enrolments as recorded on the Higher Education Authority (HEA)'s Student Records System for the most recent five years available are below. Data for 2024/25 will be published in Q3 of this year. 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 246,630 259,900 261,010 256,785 265,905* *Data for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: The purpose of the Technological Sector Student Accommodation Programme (TSSAP) is to assess Higher Education Institution proposals for student accommodation projects on, or near, each of their main campus locations. Stage one of programme which is now complete. The second phase of the TSSAP involves the development and assessment of the initial preliminary business cases (PBC) comprising...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: My Department secured a significant investment in apprenticeship of €67 million in Budget 2024, which together with a further increase of €77 million in Budget 2025 has brought apprenticeship funding to €339 million in 2025. This €339 million figure consists of €92 million for the Higher Education Authority, €236 million for SOLAS and €10...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: My Department is committed to supporting a Further Education and Training (FET) system that helps individuals succeed, boosts economic growth, and prepares our workforce for the challenges and opportunities ahead, while fostering stronger communities. This commitment is underpinned by a significant investment of over €1 billion in 2025. This funding allocation agreed by Government at...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: The Cavan and Monaghan ETB's (CMETB) proposal for a new FET College in Cavan has been successful in moving forward to the next stage of development - the Pre-tender, Project Design, Planning and Procurement Strategy stage. CMETB’s proposal is to construct a new integrated Further Education and Training College of the Future in Cavan Town. The proposed facility would address critical...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I can confirm to the Deputy that no EU funding was dispersed via my Department in respect of capital works projects in the period in question.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Youth Work Projects (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: The Youthreach programme is of great importance to my Department as it provides early school leavers with the knowledge, skills and confidence required to participate fully in society and progress to further education, training and employment. Typically, the programme provides two years of education at levels 3 and 4 of the National Framework of Qualifications. Youthreach is an important and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Meetings (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I have had only had one ‘bilateral’ meeting with EU counterparts to date: 25.07.17 Meeting in Copenhagen with the Lithuanian and Greek Ministers – Ireland’s Presidency Trio partners In addition to the above meeting the Minister also engaged in plenary meetings with his EU counterparts during the following: Competitiveness Council...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Contracts (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: My Department has not used reserved contracts or included social clauses in public procurement tenders in the past five years. The response has been prepared on the basis that the Deputy is referring to the following Socially Responsible Public Procurement: . The information in respect of aegis bodies, within the scope of the Deputy’s question, is not held by my Department. Contact...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: The decision on eligibility for student grant applications is a matter for the centralised grant awarding authority, SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland). Generally speaking, a grant will not be paid to a student for a repeat period of study on the same course, or for a different course at the same level, irrespective of whether or not a grant was paid previously, as per Article...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I am very much aware that the rising cost of living continues?to impact students and their families. This Government is committed to reducing the cost of college for families and we have already made significant strides in that regard over the last few budgets. From September 2025, all income thresholds under the Student Grant Scheme will increase. The income threshold for the special rate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Research Funding (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: The Research Ireland Frontiers for the Future Programme funds novel and innovative ideas with strong potential to deliver impactful solutions for major challenges facing society today. The programme supports innovative, collaborative research with the potential to deliver significant economic and societal impact. This targeted investment creates vital opportunities for researchers, and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I propose to take Questions Nos. 3394 and 3395 together. For more than twenty years, the National Training Fund (NTF) has played a key role in Ireland’s workforce transformation, upskilling employees, preparing job seekers, and supporting lifelong learning. Budget 2025 delivered a significant investment through the NTF Surplus Package, allocating an additional €1.485 billion...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: The information that the Deputy has requested is not readily available, my staff are currently collecting this information and I will be back to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Irish Language (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: My Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to higher education institutions. The HEA allocates this as a block grant to institutions to cover teaching, research, and supporting activities. The grant is allocated through a funding formula, which is driven by audited prior-year student numbers. Included in these grant numbers are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Irish Language (29 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: The Higher Education Authority (HEA) distributes funding for the development of Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge at the University of Galway. My Department contributes c€1.8 million annually to this, with additional funding coming from the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht. It should be noted that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are...