Results 5,681-5,700 of 6,467 for speaker:James Lawless

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (27 Mar 2025)

James Lawless: Craft apprenticeships are a vital route to qualification and employment for the construction sector, and strong employer demand has led to a 34% increase in craft apprenticeship registrations since 2019, increasing from 5,300 in 2019 to 7,100 in 2024. My Department continues to oversee the implementation of a priority plan put in place in November 2023 by the National Apprenticeship...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (27 Mar 2025)

James Lawless: I can advise the Deputy that Louth Meath ETB (LMETB) have been supported by SOLAS in developing their Preliminary Business Case (PBC) proposal for Dunboyne under the FET College of the Future Major Projects fund. The development of a robust PBC is fundamental to the requirements of the Infrastructure Guidelines. The proposal put forward by LMETB relates to the development of a new fit...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (27 Mar 2025)

James Lawless: In the new Student Accommodation Strategy, which is in development, my focus will be on increasing the supply of student accommodation to benefit both students, and to free up private rental homes. I will focus on a combination of digs accommodation, an examination of vacant property, and the development and leasing of purpose-built student accommodation. I will also examine sustainable...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (27 Mar 2025)

James Lawless: Craft apprenticeships are a vital route to qualification and employment for the construction sector, and strong employer demand has led to a 34% increase in craft apprenticeship registrations since 2019, increasing from 5,300 in 2019 to 7,100 in 2024. My Department continues to oversee the implementation of a priority plan put in place in November 2023 by the National Apprenticeship Office...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (27 Mar 2025)

James Lawless: The Funding the Future Framework published in May 2022, outlines the vision for how higher education will be funded and how this will support students, employers and wider society. The Framework identified an amount of €307 million as representing the quantum of increase in core funding required to deliver enhanced performance, strategic reforms and strengthened quality of outcomes. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (27 Mar 2025)

James Lawless: There is a comprehensive and ambitious set of commitments for research and innovation in the new Programme for Government. This work will be progressed via a number of national policies and strategies, under the national research and innovation strategy Impact 2030. Under Budget 2025, additional funding was announced for Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland, with its total...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (27 Mar 2025)

James Lawless: I am conscious that the cost of accommodation can be a challenge for many students and could make the reality of higher education beyond the reach of some. Increasing the supply of student accommodation is a priority for this Government and I. Student reliance on the private market has an impact on overall housing supply; an increase in the provision of student specific accommodation has...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (27 Mar 2025)

James Lawless: I very much welcome this collaboration between UCD and Northeastern University in Boston. While it is a clear example of leveraging the collective expertise and leadership in both institutions, it also aligns with the ambition and objectives of Global Citizens 2030, which is Ireland’s international talent and innovation strategy. The nature of skills, both nationally and globally, is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Bodies (27 Mar 2025)

James Lawless: As this question is more appropriate to DETE, my officials have been in contact with the Deputy to advise contacting DETE directly.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Cybersecurity Policy (27 Mar 2025)

James Lawless: I propose to take Questions Nos. 416 and 417 together. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is an operational arm of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), and is the primary cyber security authority in the State. The NCSC provides a range of cyber-security services to operators of Critical National Infrastructure, including all Government Departments and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (27 Mar 2025)

James Lawless: To date, as part of short term response measures, the Government approved in principle up to €100m in funding to unlock the development of approximately 1,000 student accommodation beds across a number of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), including a 493-bed student accommodation project in University College Dublin (UCD). Supply data from the Higher Education Authority...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (27 Mar 2025)

James Lawless: My Department is progressing both short and longer term student accommodation policy responses under the Housing for All plan. A capital investment of €100m from the National Development Plan windfall allocation has enabled the progression of new purpose-built student accommodation beds through the Department’s Short-Term Activation Plan. This funding enabled activation...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Technological Universities (27 Mar 2025)

James Lawless: I propose to take Questions Nos. 420 and 421 together. South East Technological University (SETU) continues its recovery from the cyber incident which occurred last October. The majority of classrooms and laboratories are now fully restored, although there are challenges in some locations due to legacy infrastructure from it's IoT phase. SETU continues its efforts to support university...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Technological Universities (27 Mar 2025)

James Lawless: The information requested by the Deputy for 2025 is not currently available. Current funding is allocated to universities by the Higher Education Authority annually through the Recurrent Grant Allocation Model (RGAM). Under this model, funding is predicated on a number of variables, including student numbers and competitive calls which becomes available late in the year. Meanwhile, capital...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (27 Mar 2025)

James Lawless: Reply not received from Department.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Further and Higher Education (1 Apr 2025)

James Lawless: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir Ryan and thank her for raising this issue with me today. I will set out the context around the query before answering as Members may not be familiar with the issue that arises and the surrounding circumstances, so it might be helpful to the debate. A locally devised assessment, LDA, refers to an assessment created by a further education and...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Further and Higher Education (1 Apr 2025)

James Lawless: I thank the Senator. That is helpful. I was not aware there was an issue in Macroom. We will look into that in a little more detail. There are variances across the sector, as I said, and certain historical practices have developed over and above what was perhaps the design or intention of those facilities. Perhaps that needs to be looked at as well, as to whether it is appropriate or...

Confidence in the Ceann Comhairle: Motion (1 Apr 2025)

James Lawless: We stand on a precipice. The world is burning and the barbarians are at the gate. We face multiple existential crises. We have instability in the Middle East, war in Ukraine and climate change. Trade wars will start tomorrow, with tariffs posing threats to the global economy.

Confidence in the Ceann Comhairle: Motion (1 Apr 2025)

James Lawless: Tomorrow, we will see the threats becoming real. In this House, we watched aghast as Boris Johnson and the Brexiteers prorogued parliament, when they suspended the people's assembly, denying that parliamentary procedure could take place. We watched in horror on 6 January 2021 when the Capitol rioters stormed Washington DC to stop the election results being ratified. We never thought we...

Confidence in the Ceann Comhairle: Motion (1 Apr 2025)

James Lawless: We are talking about eight minutes of speaking time.