Results 36,721-36,740 of 46,575 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 390 and 391 together. In July I announced Government approval for €105 million for the third level sector to safely reopen in September 2021 in line with public health advice. The package will include financial support for further and higher education to return on-site safely in line with public health advice and additional supports for students in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: Cavan ETB has identified the development of the site of the former Army Barracks in Cavan as an opportunity to centralise further education and training provision and eliminate the need for various rented accommodation arrangements around Cavan town. Plans are currently being advanced by the ETB for interim temporary accommodation for Cavan Institute on the Barracks site. Funding was...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Contracts (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: The details regarding procurements that took place by way of negotiated procedure without prior publication in 2020 and 2021 for my department are listed in tabular form below. No such contract was placed in 2020 and a single contract was awarded so far in 2021 with a value of €350,000. This cost will be paid in the coming months of 2021. Department of Further and Higher Education,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Unions (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: Significant additional Funding has been made available to support students under recent budgets and through the Return to Education Packages for 2020 and 2021. The principal support provided by my Department in financial terms is the Student Grant Scheme. The budgetary provision for the Student Grant Scheme in 2021 is €364.5m. The Student Grant Scheme provides grant assistance to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Schemes (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: The main support provided by my Department in terms of financial supports is the Student Grant Scheme. The Student Grant Scheme, administered by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), provides grant assistance to students attending an approved full-time course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency,...

Financial Resolutions 2021 - Financial Resolution No. 2: General (Resumed) (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I hope to respond to several of the issues raised by my colleague, Deputy Howlin, but it would require more time to respond substantively to his points on climate, housing and health. I look forward to debating that and would very much contend that the Government has robust strategies in those three areas. A fair comment would be that it will be on the implementation of those strategies...

Financial Resolutions 2021 - Financial Resolution No. 2: General (Resumed) (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I assure the Deputy that the campus in Wexford is under way.

Financial Resolutions 2021 - Financial Resolution No. 2: General (Resumed) (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: The SUSI changes will be introduced in the next academic year.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Technological Universities (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: The establishment of the new Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest is a hugely significant development. A core part of its mission will be to supply the graduate skills to meet the needs of employers in its region, and to support sustainable development. Of course as an autonomous institution, it’s a matter for their Academic Council and their Governing Body...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I want to thank the Deputy for raising the matter, but it is not an issue which has previously been brought to my attention. It’s certainly very positive to see the new Civil Defence headquarters in Ennis open. Taken alongside the establishment of the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest and the fact that Ennis is now a university town, these will be important...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Technological Universities (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: Should the application for Technological University designation be approved, the IT Carlow campus would become a campus of the Technological University of the South East. Under the Higher Education Public Private Partnership - PPP - Programme, it is planned to deliver a Science and Health Building of more than 6,000 square metres on this campus. The building will include undergraduate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Technological Universities (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: It’s important to say at the outset that it is very much a matter for the governing bodies of autonomous Institutes of Technology to choose their own strategic direction in the higher education landscape. There have been very significant steps made by Dundalk Institute of Technology in this regard, which I welcome. DkIT has published its vision to become a dynamic,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: The student grant is an absolutely critical support for the students who receive it. That is why, following taking up my Ministerial appointment, I initiated a Review of the Student Grant Scheme to see where improvements would be most effective. The importance of this Review has been underlined by the rise in the costs of living across society. This has impacted students who have been...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: Maintaining and developing a strong supply of STEM graduates is critical to Ireland’s growth as a world-class centre of innovation and research. Ensuring that we have good gender balance in STEM is a key part of meeting this supply. It is also a worthwhile policy goal in its own right, given all that we know about the importance of diversity in STEM, as well as our desire to ensure...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Science Foundation Ireland (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I assume the Deputy is referring to the research infrastructure calls that Science Foundation Ireland make from time to time. I should explain at the outset that the management of such calls is a matter for SFI, based on their own processes and having regard to appropriate advice and expertise, including from international experts. The Infrastructure Call is a very important programme....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Research and Development (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: It is imperative that our research and innovation system must be open and have strong international collaboration links. Membership of leading international research organisations is an important mechanism for facilitating this engagement. As part of the Innovation 2020 strategy, the Government committed to initiating discussions with several international research organisations. Four...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I’m acutely aware of the challenges facing students in securing accommodation this year, and my Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage are working closely together to address these issues. The shortage of accommodation for students is happening in the context of the wider housing crisis. In September the Government published Housing For All, a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I was delighted to see Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest open its doors at the start of the month to become the third technological university in the State. The communities in areas where there are campuses of the new TU will benefit from a range of benefits over time. The universities will attract more students, they will help communities create and retain skills and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Technological Universities (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I provided the Deputy with details of the funding of the Connacht Ulster Alliance TU development consortium since 2013 as recently as March. On 8 September the HEA announced funding of€25.7million under the Technological University Transformation Fund (TUFT) to relevant higher education institutions in support of progression towards TU status or for the post-establishment development...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: My Department places a fundamental focus on working to deliver suitably qualified and adequate numbers of graduates to meet the demands of the workplace. A core focus of the Department's Statement of Strategy is to enable individuals to access the skills required to progress in a way that meets the needs of our economy as it evolves and recovers. To meet the different existing and...