Results 10,041-10,060 of 46,456 for speaker:Simon Harris

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: EU Directives (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: In relation to the future benefits, I refer to two important pieces of work that we are undertaking this year. One is our new national research and innovation strategy for Ireland in which we will specifically map out the actions we intend to take. Being honest, one of the things we will have to do, if we are serious about research, is to ensure that we fund it at a level that is, at least,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: EU Directives (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: Deputy Lahart is entirely correct and this is an issue that has come across my desk as both the Minister and a Deputy. It is a cause of concern for many of our students. I have been engaging with the United States Embassy here and I have engaged with my colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and asked that he politically escalate the matter. I welcome the fact that President Biden has...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: EU Directives (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: Yes, absolutely. The Minister for Foreign Affairs or I will try to provide a statement on this shortly.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Staff (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I very much welcome an ongoing focus on this, as I know the Deputy will ensure there is. I will too, which is why I want the three work streams I have outlined, namely, the new staffing agreement with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform; the work we have asked the HEA to do in regard to precarious employment and its prevalence and impact on our higher education system; and,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cross-Border Co-operation (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for the question and recognise his obvious interest and commitment to this issue as a Border Deputy and a long-serving Member of the House. I strongly believe, as does the Government, that there is significant potential for enhanced North-South collaboration throughout the further and higher education and research system. This is an issue to which I have attached high...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cross-Border Co-operation (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: Absolutely. I very much believe that the PEACE PLUS initiative and the cross-Border skills programme will possibly be the first time we have had to do that at scale and with a degree of intensity that has perhaps been lacking in the past. I am very much looking forward to that and the programme will be finalised this year. It will give opportunity, not just in the higher education space...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cross-Border Co-operation (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: On the pathways point, the Deputy and I met a guy called Jack, whose story I tell everywhere I go. He got his first choice on the CAO and started his course, which, as is the case for many people, was not for him. He decided to leave that, returned to Cavan Institute and completed one year of pre-law there. He got a great grounding in law, decided it was for him and now he will start at...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: EU Directives (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: Openness and international collaboration are essential components of a globally relevant research system. Under the third country researchers directive, Ireland offers a fast-track work permit, or hosting agreement, for third country researchers from countries outside the European Economic Area, EEA. The third country researchers directive allows researchers to carry out research projects...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: Absolutely. Let me be really clear. While I am proud of the SUSI support scheme, which supports tens of thousands of students who may not otherwise be able to access higher education, that is not to say that I believe the current system is satisfactory, because I do not. A key commitment in the programme for Government was to carry out a comprehensive review of SUSI and how it operates....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Staff (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I hope that I have never dismissed the Deputy's questions. I have been engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The issue of the contractual arrangements of those working in the higher education sector is very important. I have raised it with the HEA and with those who fund research, such as the Irish Research Council and Science Foundation Ireland, because they also...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Staff (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy. There are really three things to say. The first thing is that, as I have said, we are engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the HEA with regard to that employment control framework. Of course, employment controls are needed. We all know that. There is no publicly funded agency that can hire without reference to the impact on the public...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: We have been discussing the required funding for the safe return to college, not just for the institutions but also for the students, and the great work that has been done by the student well-being engagement group that I asked the Union of Students in Ireland to chair. The short answer to the Deputy's question is that I expect to receive approval for additional funding from Cabinet on 19...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: The short answer to any questions about what students or staff members will have to do is we will follow the prevailing public health advice at the time. The way I think of it is that if we look on colleges as small towns, in effect, or indeed not so small towns in many ways, the rules that would apply in any town should apply there as well. For example, if a restaurant can be open in a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: There will be statements on this issue next week in the Dáil. I do not have the figure for lab places to hand. We give devolved capital grants to each institution. I would have to approach the institutions through the HEA to obtain that information. I can certainly do that for the Deputy. The Deputy referenced recorded lectures. I accidentally overlooked that. It is something I...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for the question. First, I would like to see our registration fees reduced. We need to do it in a way that is sustainable. I often think that when we talk about our registration fee, we sometimes ignore our reality, which is that not far off 50% - I think it is around 48% - of students have their registration fee paid in full or in part by the State through the SUSI...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I genuinely welcome the work that the Deputy is going to undertake. I was pleased that I could announce with the Taoiseach €40 million from the shared island unit for all-island research which will make a real difference, not only in investing in research but also in building the links and personal relationships between individual researchers and the institutions North and South. I...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Technological Universities (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: That is an excellent suggestion. I would be very happy to take the Deputy up on it and arrange for a meeting with Oireachtas Members from Wexford, perhaps the chief executive of Wexford County Council, the president of IT Carlow and their like to meet me. I would be very happy to try to do that this month, at least online. I will take the Deputy up on her offer to visit the existing...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Technological Universities (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy. She does not need me to tell her about the success of the Wexford campus because she herself has been a beneficiary. I very much believe this technological university for the south east will be transformational, not just regarding access to education, although that will be the case, but also regarding the foreign direct investment potential the Deputy referred to. I...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy. I would not agree that the underfunding started when my party came into government. Unfortunately, the underfunding of higher education is an intergenerational issue that needs to be rectified. I accept, however, the point on the need for a sustainable model of funding for higher education. My Department's statement of strategy, which I published on 8 March, contains a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: The Deputy knows that every time she says we have the highest fees in the European Union, I am going to point out this is only because Northern Ireland left the European Union, sadly, as part of Brexit. The fees for students in the North, where the Deputy's party is in government, are a hell of a lot higher. The timeline is a matter for the European Commission. In fairness to it, I...