Results 38,961-38,980 of 46,575 for speaker:Simon Harris

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Children in Care (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: I do not want to stray too far outside my remit as I do not have responsibility for that matter but I will be engaging with relevant Departments and Government colleagues on these issues. If we are serious about fixing access to further and higher education for people who have had experience of the care system - and we are - that will be interdependent on several other things happening...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter on behalf of her constituent. As she is aware, as part of the budget 2023 we have secured a significant cost-of-living package for third level students, including a once-off €1,000 state financial support towards the undergraduate student contribution fee for higher education students eligible for the free fees scheme. This measure will...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: I find myself fundamentally in agreement with the Deputy. To be blunt and honest here, we had to start somewhere and we started at the €3,000 fee. Any student linked to the €3,000 undergraduate fee benefits from the €1,000 reduction. Do we want to do more? Yes. Do we need to do more in respect of part-time students? We absolutely do for the reasons the Deputy has...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: Yes, I can, and it will be replaced in 2023. The first priority, and it has to be my first one, is to get building student accommodation. There are a number of sites and universities that have planning permission and land today and I need to get those projects built. It has not been possible to build them, and I do not mean to say this in a critical way of them, for whatever one may want...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: It is important to note that my Department allocates recurrent funding to the HEA for direct disbursement to HEA-designated higher education institutions. However, as autonomous bodies, the internal disbursement of this funding is a matter for the individual institution. As is clear from the actions already taken in the cost-of-living measures outlined in the budget, my Department is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: I do not want to pre-empt the review but my instinctive view is in line with the Deputy’s in terms of this idea of a recommended minimum stipend. That is something that would be quite helpful because the more one looks into this issue, the more one realises there are so many different and diverse ways in which stipends are funded. There are the ones directly funded through my own...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: This is an important issue for the well-being of our students, the next generation of leaders and some of our best and brightest. It is also an important issue from the point of view of the competitiveness of our country, a knowledge-based economy. I want to look at the stipend but, in any review, I want to look at more than the stipend, as the Deputy is suggesting. I think there are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Technological Universities (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: I agree that the technological universities have the potential to enhance progress in the delivery of national and regional priorities significantly, bringing higher education into the regions while creating institutions that are mandated by law to interact with local business and local industry on the development of courses. They also place an emphasis on matters like inclusion, access and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Technological Universities (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: I agree with that and I look forward to visiting the National Maritime College of Ireland later this year with Deputy Stanton and exploring how we can work together to offer support. I thank him for keeping in touch with me regarding this subject. When we talk about the technological universities, I very much believe they are equal to but distinct from the traditional universities. This is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Technological Universities (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: This should not be the case. I will look into this issue and revert to the Deputy with the figures. We have topped up, for want of a better phrase, the student assistance fund in recent weeks with the €8 million announced. I will respond directly to her regarding this matter. Turning to Deputy Stanton's contribution, I am eager that the technological universities collaborate...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Aindrias Moynihan for raising this issue. To be honest about this issue, and it is important to be so, the Government's decision in the budget we announced links the €1,000 reduction to the €3,000 fee. The way I explain this in my own mind, therefore, is that if people are eligible to pay the €3,000 fee, they are then eligible to get the €1,000...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: Truthfully, I do not have the information here. If I do, I cannot come across it now but I will get it for the Deputy. He has made a fair point. I agree with his analysis that there are many students attending a whole variety of institutions that are not publicly funded but who may need assistance. This could be in terms of the cost-of-living crisis or in respect of other issues that can...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: The Deputy has rightly highlighted the work that remains to be done in reducing the cost of education. The Government that we are a part of - my party, the Deputy's and the Green Party - is the first to reduce college fees in about 27 years. It is a first step and it is not the only step we intend to take together. It has to be seen in the round. There is a reduction in the €1,000...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for the question and the short answer is that it is established. It is important that when you have an announcement in the budget, you examine how you will translate that into implementation. As part of the budget, I was delighted to receive a significant cost-of-living package for third level students. Some €143 million will be spent between now and the end of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: There has been close engagement. I want to thank the HEA, SUSI, the Irish Universities Association, IUA, the Technological Higher Education Association, THEA, and the higher education institutions themselves for their assistance. We have had engagement with all of them and it is an important point because this is not money being taken from the colleges; it is the Government providing...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: On PhD students, we will fund the IRC and the SFI for those stipends. I expect those stipend increases to be paid between now and the end of the year and I will get Deputy Colm Burke a detailed note on it. The Deputy will also be pleased to know that 4,809 students in Cork will benefit from the additional student grant payment on 16 December. As Deputy Dillon rightly says, 1,736 students...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: The HEA has reported a total of 10,013 full time PhD students in 2021/2022. The most recent Higher Education Expenditure on Research and Development (HERD) Survey 2018/19 carried out by my Department, found that there were 10,044 research students (doctoral and masters by research) in 2018, of which 6,143 (61%) were in receipt of a stipend and 3,901 (39%) were fully self-funded. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: I was very pleased to be in a position to provide an additional maintenance payment to SUSI maintenance grant holders through the cost-of-living measures. I can confirm that this additional maintenance grant payment will be paid on the 16th December to eligible students. As part of Budget 2023, I have also increased the Maintenance Grant rates by 14% for those on the Special and Band 1 rate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: I have been consistent in my position that we need to develop our student support system over time to ensure that it supports more flexible forms of learning. At present, the student grant scheme is targeted at full-time students in approved institutions. Courses that are part-time, less than two years in duration or leading to a special purpose or minor award, rather than a major award,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: My Department is strongly committed to supporting the health of the population through the provision of graduates with the key competencies and skills to be effective in the health workforce and support a range of clinical teams in our health services. In July, the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, and I jointly announced an additional 60 places in medicine programmes for this...