Results 38,461-38,480 of 46,575 for speaker:Simon Harris

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: Senator McDowell is pontificating.

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: It could have been given.

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: It has.

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: What do Standing Orders say?

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: I want clarification from Seanad officials on this because I am going to take this up-----

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: It has nothing to do with me, though. I have made myself available. Senator McDowell may say it matters diddly-squat to him whether I am here or not. I was asked this morning if I would make myself available. I said I would do so again tomorrow and on Friday.

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: I said that to the person who contacted us in respect of this. That was said by me. The Senator can have his own arguments and tiffs. I am not allowing him to suggest in any way, shape or form that I am seeking to guillotine the debate.

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: The truth is that I am available today, tomorrow and Friday. I am in the hands of Seanad Éireann.

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: It was going through the Dáil.

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: There are plenty of amendments to speak to and the Senators have chosen to stand up but not speak to the amendments, which is interesting. This piece of legislation has not been rushed. It has not been described as emergency legislation. Consultation first began on the reform of this legislation in July 2018. The outcome of that was published in July 2019. There was then a further round...

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: In a refreshing move, I might speak to the amendment.

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: That is generally how Committee Stage works. Amendment No. 1 is in the names of Senators Norris and Boyhan. I thank Senator Norris for his opening contribution which I will get to as we go through the various stages of the amendments. The Senator will not be surprised that I am not in a position to accept this amendment because it proposes to remove section 1(2) of the Bill. That is the...

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Committee Stage (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: I thank the Senators. As Senator Higgins rightly points out, this amendment needs to be seen in the context of more substantive amendments that come up later in the Bill in respect of the constitution and composition of the board of an t-údarás. I believe these new definitions are not necessary as it is not specified in respect of the membership of the board of an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: The information requested by the Minister on the number of persons who began apprenticeships in counties Longford and Westmeath in 2020 and 2021 has been requested from SOLAS who have advised that registrations are recorded by employer ETB location and not county. SOLAS have provided the data in the attached table. In 2020 there were a total of 149 apprentices registered to Longford and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: The information requested by the Minister on the average waiting time for apprentices to access off-the-job training in counties Longford and Westmeath has been requested from SOLAS, which is collating the data. The information will be sent on to the Minister as soon as it is available.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Sector Staff (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: My Department is not aware of any former county managers or CEOs of local authorities currently working in the Department. However, such information regarding the employment history of employees of the Department is not collated, or reported on, by my Department. The requested information in respect of persons working in the Department’s aegis bodies is not held by my Department....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: Under the Further Education and Training Act (2013), SOLAS has statutory responsibility for planning, funding, and co-ordinating Further Education and Training (FET) in Ireland. My officials have referred your query to SOLAS for direct reply on this individual matter. If you do not receive a response from SOLAS within 30 days, please do come back to my office for further follow-up.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: On the 4th May, I published Funding the Future - a landmark policy on the future of higher education. Government has identified a core funding gap of €307 million, and an ambition to target investment at improving the quality of programmes, their outcomes, and providing a third-level education system which is accessible to everyone in society. An oversight group has been established to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Costs (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: For student grant purposes, students are categorized according to their circumstances either as students dependent on parents or a legal guardian, or as independent mature students. A student may be assessed as an independent student (i.e. assessed without reference to parental income and address) if he/she has attained the age of 23 on the 1st of January of the year of first entry to an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (6 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: The number of awards to date by SUSI for 2021/22 for Longford are 777 and 1,435 for Westmeath. Please note as processing for 2021/22 is ongoing these figures may change.