Results 38,801-38,820 of 46,575 for speaker:Simon Harris

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (21 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: I thank Senator Ward. Academic freedom is at the heart and core of this legislation. It is protected by this legislation. On the broader point the Senator is making, this legislation will provide the HEA and an t-údarás with the ability to co-design codes of practice and guidelines. That is really important for greater transparency in the context of a raft of areas relating to...

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (21 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: This is a large grouping of amendments, but it has a couple of themes. Senator Gavan is right. There is not a magic number. There is no magic number for many things in life, though, and we have to make judgment calls. During this process, I have tried to show a willingness to engage on the number. The Senator is right again, in that the number has changed as a result of that engagement....

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (21 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: I thank Senator Gavan for the amendment. There is a technical reason I cannot accept it, which I will read out, and I will then comment on the substantive issue he and Senator Dolan raised. The amendment would amend the definition of "an institution of higher education" under the Housing Finance Act to which the Housing Finance Agency, for the purpose of providing accommodation for...

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (21 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: I thank the Acting Chairperson and Seanad Éireann for its detailed consideration of the Bill. I sincerely thank the team of officials who have worked on the legislation. I thank Tanya Kenny, who is sitting with me, Íde Mulcahy, Stuart Morris and all the team in the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. This is particularly significant...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Costs (21 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: The Student Grant Scheme, administered by SUSI, provides grant assistance to students pursuing an approved course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. It assists over 70,000 students annually to access third level education. Particular priority is afforded to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Budget 2023 (21 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: With the launch of Zero Tolerance the Third National Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence Strategy, I have been very clear that the tertiary education and training sector must lead the way in changing cultures, behaviours and practices across society to ensure that bullying and sexual harassment are not tolerated. There is a particular responsibility on those charged with educating the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (21 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are autonomous institutions within the meaning of the Universities Act 1997, the Institutions of Technology Acts 1992 to 2006 and the Technological Universities Act 2018. Under this legislation the institutions are academically independent and are entitled to regulate their own academic affairs and administrative processes, including the mode of delivery...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Technological Universities (21 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: All capital projects advanced by publicly funded Higher Education Institutions must comply with the provisions of the Public Spending Code, while site acquisitions must also be conducted in accordance with relevant guidance from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. There can be considerable variation in the time it takes to move a property acquisition through the approval...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Costs (21 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the centralised student grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) to determine. A student may wish to discuss his/her individual circumstances with the SUSI Support Desk by calling 0818 888 777. A very important feature of the scheme is the change of circumstances provision. If a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (21 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: On 5th of September, in advance of the Budget, I published, for the first time, a costs of education paper which will set out the possible policy options, and their indicative costs, to aid public discussion on how we should prioritise any interventions to address costs of education. The paper “Funding the Future, an annual options paper on reducing the cost of higher education can be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (22 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: Under the terms of the Student Grant Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students attending an approved course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, progression, previous academic attainment and means. To satisfy the terms and conditions of the scheme in relation to progression, a student must be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (22 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: Neither I nor my Department are aware of instances where Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) owned purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) is as the Deputy suggests being used for the accommodation of persons who are not students. During the Summer months in 2022 a number of HEIs provided their student accommodation for persons fleeing the war in the Ukraine but it is understood all such...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Qualifications Recognition (22 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: Following the decision by DBS to withdraw its Applied Social Care degree from consideration for approval by CORU, I asked my officials to assess the situation in order to better understand the options available to these students and seek a satisfactory solution. Engagements have been ongoing between my Department's officials, the Department of Health, CORU, QQI and DBS, and all relevant...

Financial Resolutions 2022 - Budget Statement 2023 (27 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: Frontbenchers.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (27 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: Under the terms of the Student Grant Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students attending an approved course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the centralised student...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (27 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: The new PhD programme to which the Deputy is referring is Innovate for Ireland. The Taoiseach and I recently launched Innovate for Ireland, which is a new partnership between industry and the Government to recruit and retain research talent to Ireland. A stipend of €28,000 will apply to PhD students on the new Innovate for Ireland programme. Innovate for Ireland will commence...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (27 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: Under the terms of the Student Grant Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students attending an approved course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. The college referred to by the Deputy is not an approved institution under the Student Grant Scheme.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (27 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: Under the Department's Student Grant Scheme, eligible candidates may receive funding provided they are attending an approved course at an approved institution as defined in the scheme. The definition of an approved institution is set out in Section 7 of the Student Support Act 2011 and Regulation 3 of the Student Support Regulations 2022. Private colleges operated on a for-profit basis are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Official Engagements (27 Sep 2022)

Simon Harris: Details of the relevant engagements are attached, as requested by the Deputy. Engagement Date Sallynoggin College of Further Education 26 September 2022 Launch FET Podcast (ETBI) 15 September 2022 Unified Tertiary System Webinar 20 June 2022 Inaugural Meeting of the National...