Results 6,121-6,140 of 6,467 for speaker:James Lawless

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

James Lawless: My officials are working closely with the Department of Health to expand the healthcare workforce capacity of the country, and to create more opportunities for students who wish to pursue these professions, including in dentistry and oral healthcare. A list of all first year enrolments, by nationality, is in the attached document provided by the Higher Education Authority (HEA). The...

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

James Lawless: Thank you Deputy for your question about the cyber-attack experienced at Munster Technological University. I would like to start by bringing the Deputies attention to the fact that the cyber-attack occurred in February 2023 and not September 2024. For context I have provided below a brief overview of the incident followed by a breakdown of the €3.5m costs. MTU’s Cork...

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

James Lawless: Technological University Dublin's (TU Dublin) audited financial statements for the 2022/2023 academic year ending 31/08/2023 were signed by the C&AG on 23rd December 2024 and showed a deficit of €8.4m for 2022/23 with a deficit in the prior period of account of €3.8m. TU Dublin's financial statements for the most recent academic year 2023/24 are yet to be received by...

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

James Lawless: The issue of a bad debt provision was raised in the financial statements of Atlantic Technological University (ATU) for the year ending 31st August 2023. The financial statements disclosed that the University provided for a bad debt of €371,000, in relation to patents and license fees due from a company in which it had a minority shareholding and which has subsequently gone into...

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

James Lawless: Louth Meath ETB (LMETB) is currently being supported by SOLAS in developing its Preliminary Business Case (PBC) proposal for Dunboyne under the FET College of the Future Major Projects fund and have met as recently as this month. The proposal put forward by LMETB relates to the development of a new fit for purpose facility on a green field site in Dunboyne, to replace the existing rented...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Admissions (27 May 2025)

James Lawless: Officials in my department contacted the CAO with this query and were advised by the CAO that every year, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) inform the CAO of the courses that they wish to include in the CAO Handbook for the upcoming application season. For the 2026 application season, the final deadline for courses to be finalised for the printed version of the handbook is 13 June, 2025....

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

James Lawless: I propose to take Questions Nos. 901 and 902 together. SOLAS is proactively engaging with Dublin and Dún Laoghaire ETB (DDLETB) to address the provision needs of the region via a pipeline of capital projects that are already progressing through existing appraisal and approval processes. SOLAS has advised my Department that the requirement for additional capacity in the vicinity of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Artificial Intelligence (28 May 2025)

James Lawless: The AI Continent Action Plan was launched last month. It sets the objective for the EU to become a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) transforming Europe's strong traditional industries and its exceptional talent pool into powerful engines of AI innovation and acceleration. The Action Plan envisions Europe as a global leader in AI highlighting that, from cutting-edge...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Youth Services (28 May 2025)

James Lawless: The Youthreach programme is of great importance to my Department as it provides early school leavers with the knowledge, skills and confidence required to participate fully in society and progress to further education, training and employment. As the state agency responsible for the FET sector, SOLAS allocates funding to 16 ETBs and other agencies to deliver FET programmes, including...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Youth Services (28 May 2025)

James Lawless: The Youthreach programme is of great importance to my Department as it provides early school leavers with the knowledge, skills and confidence required to participate fully in society and progress to further education, training and employment. Typically, the programme provides two years of education at levels 3 and 4 of the National Framework of Qualifications. Youthreach is an important and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Artificial Intelligence (28 May 2025)

James Lawless: I was happy to announce on May 13th that Government had given their agreement to my proposals to establish a Global Talent Initiative to bring global research talent to Ireland. At a time when uncertainty looms for many researchers around the world, Ireland offers stability, opportunity, excellence and a gateway to the EU. My Department will continue their work with Taighde Éireann-...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (28 May 2025)

James Lawless: The data requested by the Deputy is contained in the attached spreadsheet. This data was sourced from the HEA Student Records System (SRS) and is year one student enrolment data for the most recent academic year available 2023/2024 for the disciplines requested. ">Year 1 Student Data

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (28 May 2025)

James Lawless: The potential cost of adjusting the student contribution under the Free Fees Initiative may vary from year to year, depending on the number of eligible students attending higher education, and the number of students qualifying for student contribution supports from SUSI. These variables make it difficult to estimate the potential cost over a three-year period. The €500 student...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (28 May 2025)

James Lawless: Apprenticeship Instructors are public sector staff. The applicable pay rates for staff across the public sector are determined by national pay agreements negotiated with staff representatives and approved by Government. Any changes to pay can occur only through these processes, and any proposals would need to be considered in detail by the relevant Department and trade unions and the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: International Students (28 May 2025)

James Lawless: It would not be appropriate to estimate the costs involved given the hypothetical nature of the question. The Student Assistance Fund (SAF) provides financial assistance to students experiencing financial difficulties while attending higher education. Students can be assisted towards costs such as rent, childcare, transport and costs associated with the provision of books/class materials....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (28 May 2025)

James Lawless: It is important to note that there are no fees for undertaking a national apprenticeship programme. A student contribution fee is paid by all students, including apprentices, when attending Higher Education Institutions. A once-off reduction of up to 33% of this fee as a part of a cost-of-living package for students was announced in Budgets 2023, 2024 and 2025. I remain committed to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (28 May 2025)

James Lawless: Government supports craft apprentices through the provision of a state training allowance during each phase of off-the-job training. On average, a training allowance of €5,000 is provided to assist in off-the-job training, depending on industry and phase. An apprentice is paid every two weeks when they are on off-the-job training. This is based on the wage norms set out for that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (28 May 2025)

James Lawless: Information to inform a response to the Deputy's question been requested from the relevant agency. I will be back to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (28 May 2025)

James Lawless: I propose to take Questions Nos. 426 and 430 together. For apprenticeship programmes developed before 2016, or “craft” apprenticeships, there are long-standing industrial relations mechanisms for determining pay where collective bargaining between industry and employee representatives determines rates. In the construction industry these rates are underpinned by a sectoral...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (28 May 2025)

James Lawless: 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. In relation to supports available for students studying outside of the State, the Student Grant Scheme provides maintenance grants to eligible undergraduate students pursuing approved courses in...