Results 61-80 of 6,887 for speaker:James Lawless

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Admissions (8 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: My Department does not gather data for the number of students from Ireland who have applied, or register, with higher education institutions in Northern Ireland. This data can be sourced from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in the UK (www.hesa.ac.uk) However, the data for 2023/ 2025 has not been published by HESA.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Admissions (8 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: The CAO is an independent, non-profit private company.  Its function is to process applications for undergraduate courses and some postgraduate courses on behalf of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). CAO points are determined by the Leaving Certificate grades of applicants, the number of available places, and the number of applicants and can, therefore, go up or down in any given year...

Financial Resolutions 2025 - Budget Statement 2026 (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: They are €6,000.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: A national Hairdressing apprenticeship programme has been successfully operating since 2019. It is a three-year programme on Level 6 of the NFQ that delivers a nationally recognised standard that is responsive to the needs of industry, designed through engagement with industry and education partners. As of end-September 2025, there are 622 individuals undertaking the national Hairdressing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: Permission is not required to use the words 'campus' or 'college' in the name of a business. As noted in guidance provided by the Companies Registration Office, only the terms “University” and “Institute of Technology” or “Regional Technical College” cannot be used unless permission has been sought from and granted by my Department. As such, no...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Admissions (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: My Department does not record data on the number of students from Ireland who have applied to universities and colleges in the north of Ireland. However, my officials have accessed publicly available data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency in the UK. (www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students) The table below shows the number of students from Ireland who are studying in Northern...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Admissions (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: The Central Applications Office (CAO) is a not-for-profit company created by the Irish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It processes applications for undergraduate, and some postgraduate, courses on the behalf of HEIs. Decisions on admissions are made by the HEIs who then instruct the CAO to make offers to successful candidates. The processing and issuing of Round 1 CAO offers is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Technological Universities (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: My officials in the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science have been working to progress reform of academic staffing structures in TUs since their establishment under the TU Act, 2018, in the main following recommendations of the TURN Report (2019) and OECD (2022) and initially focusing on professorial grades. The academic grades currently in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: For the first time, the State is investing in student accommodation to help address the sector’s viability and housing shortage. Under my Department's Short-Term Activation Programme (STAP) €100 million in capital funding has been approved to support stalled university accommodation projects. I officially opened Maynooth University’s 116-bed project on the 8th of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: The higher education tuition fee payable by a student can vary depending on a variety of factors including the type of course and the student's access route. The assessment of a student’s application and the determination of the appropriate fee rate is a function of the institution attended. There are typically two rates of fee, an EU Rate or a non-EU fee rate. Higher education...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: I propose to take Questions Nos. 727 and 752 together. Under the terms of the Student Grant Scheme, a student must be ordinarily resident in Ireland or an EU/EEA/Swiss/UK for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to an approved third level course. Where undergraduate students do not qualify for free fees funding, they must pay the appropriate fee, either EU or Non-EU,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Consultations (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: I would like to thank the Deputy for her question. My Department published the number of stakeholder submissions including names in the Regulatory Impact Assessment report on its website on 17 June. The following stakeholders were consulted:The National Skills Council (and their member organisations) The High Level Skills Implementation Group (and their member organisations)Chambers...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: The principal support provided by my Department in financial terms is the Student Grant Scheme. Under the terms of the Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students attending an approved course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. The Scheme is administered on...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: I, and my Department, welcome the recommendation from the National Skills Council for the establishment of a National Skills Observatory (NSO). The OECD’s report on Ireland’s Skills Strategy (2023) provides a clear evidence base for the establishment of a NSO to enable a more coherent approach to the collation, use, and dissemination of skills and labour market data across the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: The student referred to by the Deputy submitted an appeal to the Independent Student Grant Appeals Board (the Board) on the 15th September 2025. This is due to be considered by the Board on or before the 14th November 2025. The determination of the Board will be communicated directly to the student.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: There has been a strong and sustained commitment to apprenticeships demonstrated by government. Since the formation of my department and the subsequent publication of the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025, investment in apprenticeship training has increased by 85%, from €184 million in 2020 to €339 million in 2025. This investment has supported strong employer demand...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: Investment in the apprenticeship system has been significant since my department was formed in 2020. To ensure an adequate pipeline of skilled apprentices to support government targets on housing and infrastructure development, €77 million was invested in the apprenticeship system in Budget 2025, bringing the total current budget for apprenticeship to €339 million. This...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: Ensuring that Ireland’s apprenticeship population reflects the diversity of our society is a cornerstone of the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021–2025. A key objective within this plan is improving gender balance across all apprenticeship programmes. In January 2022, as part of the implementation of the Action Plan, government introduced a targeted grant of €2,666...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: I refer to the Deputy’s question regarding the implementation of the Public Service Apprenticeship Plan, which was previously addressed in July. The Plan, jointly published by my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation remains a central commitment under the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021–2025. It sets...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (7 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: Under the Free Fees Initiative (FFI), the State provides funding toward the tuition fee costs of eligible undergraduate higher education students with students paying the student contribution element. The State pays the student contribution (in full or part) on behalf of students who qualify under the student grant scheme administered by SUSI. The cost-of-Living measures in recent years...