Results 8,681-8,700 of 47,419 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Qualifications Recognition (14 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: My Department has been advised by the Department of Health of the following arrangement regarding social care workers. The Social Care Workers Register is due to open on the 30 November 2023. This will begin a two-year transition period for existing practitioners to apply to register with CORU. On 30 November 2025, the title 'Social Care Worker' will become a legally protected title in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (14 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: The review of the Student Grants Scheme was published on the 4th May 2022 and makes a number of recommendations on issues including the rates of grant, income thresholds, adjacency criteria, part-time learning and postgraduate support. I have already instigated improvements to the student grant scheme in Budget 2022. For the academic year 2022/23:- - There has been an increase to all student...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Costs (14 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the centralised student grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) to determine. A student may wish to discuss his/her individual circumstances with the SUSI Support Desk by calling 0818 888 777. A very important feature of the scheme is the change of circumstances provision. If a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (14 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 426 and 427 together. The provision of Higher Education funding on an annual basis is part of overall expenditure management and budgetary policy for Government. It is worth noting that Government investment in Higher Education is not specifically allocated against a per student metric and state investment in the sector is not limited to the recurrent...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (14 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 428 and 429 together. Apprenticeships are employer led demand driven educational and training programmes that aim to develop the skills of an apprentice in order to meet the needs of industry and the labour market. As apprentices are employees, the demand for and number of apprentices is primarily dictated by the employers in any area or sector. The Action...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: The cost-of-living pressures that have been brought on largely as a consequence of the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine are impacting across society in Ireland. This Government is acutely aware of this and is sensitive to the effects in certain pockets of society more than others. I, as Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, am working with officials...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: The Programme for Government commits the Department of Health to working with the education sectors, regulators, and professional bodies to improve the availability of health professionals and reform their training to support integrated care across the entire health service. My Department is strongly committed to supporting the health of the population through the provision of graduates with...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Costs (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: The main support available to students is the statutory based Student Grant Scheme administered by SUSI. The Student Grant Scheme supports eligible postgraduate students with the cost of attending higher education. Budget 2021 provided for enhanced postgraduate supports from the 2021/22 academic year including the fee grant amount rising from €2,000 to €3,500 and the income...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: It is clear that as a country we need to dramatically increase the supply of all types of housing and accommodation, including student accommodation. That is why the Government launched Housing for All, led by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage setting out a series of actions which will be delivered to address the housing crisis. The plan is backed by the largest housing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: Primary responsibility for securing accommodation for persons fleeing the war in the Ukraine rests with my colleague the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Minister O'Gorman. It is my Department's understanding that as of 1 July Minister O'Gorman's Department has contracted over 4,900 beds in student accommodation in this context with some of this...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: The 2015 HEA Report on Student Accommodation: Demand and Supply noted that the supply of accommodation for students with disabilities was insufficient, and recommended that any future developments should comply with the recommendations for enabled access as published by the Department of the Environment. The report further recommended that HEIs should consult with relevant stakeholders...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Sector Pensions (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: There are no staff members currently employed in my Department where abatement is in place under the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012. The requested information in respect of the Department’s aegis bodies is not held by my Department. Contact details for these bodies are set out in the attached document should the Deputy wish to contact them...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Costs (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: The main support available to assist postgraduate students with the cost of attending higher education is the Student Grant Scheme. Under the Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to eligible students attending an approved full-time course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 621 and 622 together. The Commis Chef Apprenticeship Programme was established by lead industry stakeholders such as the Irish Hotels Federation and the Restaurants Association of Ireland. It is a two year programme and successful apprentices become a fully qualified Commis chef, with a QQI Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Culinary Arts. The numbers registered...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Institutes of Technology (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: It is a matter for the governing body of a higher education institution (HEI) as to the strategic positioning of the institution on the higher education landscape. Dundalk Institute of Technology is understood to be currently pursuing a trajectory to achieve technological university (TU) status. The Institute is in receipt of Exchequer funding under the Transformation Fund and advice from...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: Ireland has a highly developed national skills system across further and higher education and apprenticeship, lifelong learning and human capital development, under the framework of the National Skills Strategy, and underpinned by strong partnership with key stakeholders. It is firmly focused on responding in an agile and flexible way to priority skill needs, and to changes in the world of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: The ‘Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025’sets out new ways of structuring, funding, and promoting apprenticeships to make apprenticeship accessible to employers and learners. The Plan seeks to deliver on a target of 10,000 apprenticeship registrations per annum, across a wide range of programmes, by 2025. The expansion of apprenticeship across all sectors has widened the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: A key commitment of the ‘Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025’ is to grow the number of apprenticeship registrations across the public service, including local authorities, to reach 750 annual registrations by 2025. This represents a more than seven-fold increase on 2020 registrations and will support a long-term goal of 7% of the apprentice population being employed by...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Admissions (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: My Department does not produce projections of higher education enrolment on a regional level, and so the data requested by the Deputy is not available. The statistics section of the Department of Education produce national level projections of full-time enrolment in higher education, which are available at the link below. www.gov.ie/en/collection/projections/ The number of new entrants in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: The Department understands that, across both private and HEI-owned purpose built student accommodation, there is currently in the region of 5,000 bedspaces is available in Cork City. The Department is aware of a number of developments on site expected to add in the region of 1,000 further beds in 2022.