Results 34,661-34,680 of 46,522 for speaker:Simon Harris

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: 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: Technological Universities (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Murphy for the question. I am sure she will not mind me also acknowledging that Deputy Marian Harkin raised this with me earlier in the interests of her constituency. The establishment of technological universities, including a technological university in the Connacht-Ulster region, is an important part of the Government’s higher education policy as underscored in...

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

Simon Harris: I thank Deputies Murphy and Harkin. I note those metrics and will reflect on them. In the period between now and December the Connacht-Ulster alliance plans to finalise its memorandum of understanding with the Teachers Union of Ireland; hold monthly meetings with representatives of professional management and support staff; verify key achievements of technological university criteria and...

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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: Off the job training for craft apprentices was suspended on the 12th March. At that time there were almost 200 classes of craft apprentices undertaking practical training and assessment in Education and Training Boards (ETBs), Institutes of Technology (IoTs) and TU Dublin. Where possible, theory assessments have been completed remotely. Revision and assessment for approximately 950...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: As part of a package of COVID-19 supports for the higher and further education sectors, my Department has allocated €15 million to higher and further education providers for a once-off COVID-19 Grant to support disadvantaged students in accessing ICT devices. This initiative addresses concerns regarding the digital divide in the context of the shift to online and blended models...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Universal Support Ireland (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: The student grant is a contribution towards the cost of attending college. The scheme provides for different levels of maintenance support, depending on means. Grants are also provided at adjacent and non-adjacent rates and there are provisions for a number of income disregards. The higher non-adjacent rates are intended to provide additional support to those students who may be living away...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Examinations (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are autonomous and retain the right to determine their own policies and procedures in relation to academic affairs. The student contribution charge covers the cost of elements such as student registration, admissions and examination fees. However, repeat examination fees are charged separately being set by the individual institution concerned and as...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: Since the onset of Covid-19 in March, my Department, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and SOLAS have collaborated with key stakeholders from the sector to identify, quantify and develop options to mitigate the financial impacts of Covid 19 on the sector, including costs associated with the safe commencement of the 2020/21 academic year in line with Public Health advice. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Oireachtas Joint Committee Recommendations (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: Innovation 2020, the national strategy for research and innovation, recognises that for Ireland to become a Global Innovation Leader, our research and innovation system must be open with strong international collaboration links. Membership of leading international research organisations is an important mechanism for facilitating this engagement. For this reason, the Government gave a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Institutions (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: I am deeply concerned by the findings emerging from the Sexual Experiences Survey 2020(SES) published in June 2020 by the NUI Galway Active Consent Programme in partnership with the union in question. In early August 2020 I wrote to each President of the publically funded higher education institutions requesting that a number of actions be undertaken; including that each institution develops...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: Under the Department’s free fees schemes, the Exchequer provides funding toward the tuition fee costs of eligible undergraduate Higher Education students with students paying the student contribution. The student contribution fee is currently set at €3,000 per annum and can be paid in instalments. The State pays the contribution in full or part for an estimated 44 per cent...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Universal Support Ireland (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: In 2020, my Department will spend over €400m on access measures for students. This includes circa €350m on student grants and related activities, which is expected to benefit over 70,000 further and higher education students I recently announced details of a €168m funding package for the return to education. This includes €15m in IT equipment grants for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: The fee payable by a student can vary depending on a variety factors including the type of course and the student's access route including previous education. Under the Departments Free Fees Initiative, the Exchequer pays tuition fees on behalf of eligible students attending approved full-time undergraduate courses. In order to qualify for funding under the Department’s Free Fees...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (9 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: Under the Department’s free fees schemes, the Exchequer provides funding toward the tuition fee costs of eligible undergraduate Higher Education students with students paying the student contribution. The student contribution fee is currently set at €3,000 per annum and can be paid in instalments. The State pays the contribution in full or part for an estimated 44 per cent...