Results 11,801-11,820 of 46,522 for speaker:Simon Harris

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Further and Higher Education (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Durkan for the question. There is an exciting opportunity with the creation of this new Department. For the first time, we are bringing further and higher education together with research, innovation and science. This is an education Department but it is also a business Department. It is about trying to get those two working together. Education is about a lot more than...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Further and Higher Education (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: I am satisfied that the great work done by the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Department of Education and Skills ensured that this year we could have a calculated grades system that provided a pathway from second level education to third level education. 12 o’clock That will ensure that the pipeline of high quality graduates in key areas continues and that there is not paralysis...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: We both agree on the need to increase funding for higher education. Let us be honest, though. Approximately 80% of the higher education budget is going on fixed staff costs and that is right and proper. The Deputy would be the first to tell me if that was not being addressed. We cannot pretend that the cost of providing the education system this year is decreasing, in fact, it is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: I like horses and I too prefer students. That is why as Minister with responsibility for further and higher education within the first eight weeks in the job the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, and I have made a number of measures and initiatives to significantly increase the supports going to students. The model we have in place at the moment ensures that those on the lowest...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Student Support Schemes (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy O'Connor. I am more than willing to work with the Deputy on this, knowing his knowledge, interest and past experience in the area. I assure him that we will look to best practice in other countries. I hope the establishment of our new Department provides an opportunity to bring a new focus and energy to these issues in a way that may not have been humanly possible when they...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Student Support Schemes (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for her willingness not to repeat the debate we have had. I know the issue of mental health is very serious and important. Some €121,000 will be allocated to IT Sligo and €164,000 will be allocated to Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, GMIT. I will provide the Deputy with a full breakdown of the funding by institution. The additional places we have...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Student Support Schemes (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Harkin for raising this issue. We can talk about mental health in a general sense, and it is important that we do so, but the sexual harassment and sexual violence taking place in our institutions must be called out by all of us. It is an issue for both students and staff. I intend to approach this with a degree of priority and focus that may not have been there in the past....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Student Support Schemes (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: There is a reason I have asked for several actions to be taken by the group chaired by the National Women's Council of Ireland in advance of planning for the coming budgetary year. I want to do more. Funding for third level institutions also comes from research agencies such as Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council. We must make sure those agencies are aware of any...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: I am aware of Deputy Boyd Barrett's views on this. I intend to address the funding for higher education, an issue that has been avoided for many years. A new Government and a new Department provide that opportunity. Issues around the registration fee are decided on through the budgetary process. I hope the Deputy will acknowledge that I have taken several measures to provide students with...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Mental Health Services (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: On overhauling SUSI, the programme for Government commits to a fundamental reform to student support structures. I hope we can make progress on this in the coming period. Deputy Brendan Smith is correct that we must be much more visible in terms of students knowing how to access these supports. I encourage everybody, including every Deputy, to direct people towards yourmentalhealth.ie. For...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Mental Health Services (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: I look forward to visiting Cavan and Monaghan with the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, and seeing the two institutes in question. The Deputy is entirely correct and I have been making the same point to the Irish Universities Association and the education and training boards. One cannot orientate someone into college via Zoom. Students need to be brought in to the college. To be...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Student Support Schemes (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: I congratulate Deputy O'Connor on his election. I think he is the youngest Deputy in the House, as I once was, although I have now reached the ripe old age of 33. I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, on which he also wrote to me. The decision on eligibility for student grant applications is a matter for Student Universal Support Ireland. For student grant purposes, students are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Student Support Schemes (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: The determining date will be 1 October 2019 but if it is necessary for me to provide further clarity or assistance on that, I will be happy to do so. Deputy O'Connor makes a valid point. Through this example and other correspondence he has sent me, he highlights the need to overhaul the entire student support scheme. He has asked me to stand over the logic of the system. I can read out...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Technological Universities (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: Absolutely. It is key to the success of this project that there be a Wexford campus. That has always been the intention and it needs to happen. The consortium recently designed a change management programme and established a project office with three full-time executives and support staff. That office has been working on making progress and updating the draft application which is now...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Technological Universities (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: In light of the week that is in it, I am very pleased that Deputy Murphy has told of her experience of the benefits of further education because it can be transformational. There are many pathways to get to where people wish to go. I have heard many stories this week of persons who missed out on a place in university that they desperately wanted. They were disappointed at the time, but did...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Mental Health Services (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: The Deputy is correct that there has been an effort by some Deputies - not him or me - to pit one generation against another with regard to Covid. The reality is that it has had a serious impact on all generations, including young people. I was very moved by the "Prime Time" television programme broadcast last night which showed all the milestones young people have missed as a result of the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Costs (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: The appeals process and the standardisation is a matter for the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Foley, and I will pass on details of the issue raised by the Deputy regarding that family in Tipperary to her. My understanding is that the appeals process opens on Monday but in addition to that, the marks that teachers gave to students will also be provided to all students from next...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Mental Health Services (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Pringle for raising this important matter, which he also raised with me last week during a debate on these matters. This is a very serious issue and as the Deputy is aware, I have allocated an additional €5 million for mental health supports. Admittedly, €2 million of that was a budget day announcement of additional funding and then a further €3 million...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Mental Health Services (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: It is objectively one of the largest increases we have seen for student mental health services in many years but whether it is enough is always a fair question. Do I want to continue to invest more? Of course I do. The Deputy asked what will happen with the funding and what the institutions will do with it and that is a key question. I have outlined in my answer what we want them to do...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Mental Health Services (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: I assure the Deputy that we will do that. I am more than happy to keep the Deputy and the House updated in that regard.