Results 9,841-9,860 of 10,622 for speaker:Patrick O'Donovan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (24 Sep 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: My Department is aware of issues regarding ebook licencing and is engaging with the higher education sector and the Department of Rural and Community Development who have responsibility for public libraries. Those discussions are at an early stage. In terms of supports for students, I am conscious of the need for the progressive implementation of measures to address cost as a barrier to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (24 Sep 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: The Student Assistance Fund is managed by the Higher Education Authority on behalf of my Department. The HEA allocates funding based on the academic year to each of the universities, Institutes of Technology, the Colleges of Education and a number of other higher education bodies. The core allocation for the SAF is €9.1 million per annum and increases were secured for this academic...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (24 Sep 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: Awaiting reply from Department.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (24 Sep 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: Awaiting reply from Department.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (24 Sep 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: As a part of Budget 2025, I intend to continue removing barriers to education to assist students in reaching their full potential or pursuing their goals and getting to where they want to in life. As the Deputy will appreciate, the Estimates process in ongoing. While I cannot pre-empt the budgetary process addressing costs for families and learners and supporting disadvantaged students...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (26 Sep 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: The data requested by the Deputy is contained in the attached spreadsheet. This data was sourced from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and is rounded to the nearest five for data protection purposes. The data for the academic year 2023/2024 is not yet available from the HEA as they are currently in the process of gathering and auditing this data. It is expected the data will be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (26 Sep 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: The graduate data requested by the Deputy is contained in the attached spreadsheet. This data was sourced from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and is rounded to the nearest five for data protection purposes The data for the academic year 2023/2024 is not yet available from the HEA as they are currently in the process of gathering and auditing this data. It is expected the data will be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (26 Sep 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 317 and 318 together. My officials are working closely with the Department of Health to expand the healthcare workforce capacity of the country, including oral healthcare. My Department does not place a quota on dental courses, and therefore the number of places offered is a matter for the higher education institutions, in line with their autonomy. However,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (26 Sep 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: The information requested by the Deputy is being compiled by Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI), who have noted that it will not be possible to facilitate this request by the given deadline. An answer will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (26 Sep 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: The number of craft apprentices waiting over 6 months for all phases of off-the-job training at the end of August 2024 is 2,629 (Breakdown: Phase 2 2484, Phase 4 116, Phase 6 29) A plan put in place by the National Apprenticeship Office and overseen by this Department to reduce waiting times for apprentices has nearly halved the number of craft apprentices waiting more than 6 months for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Ministerial Staff (26 Sep 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: The table below provides a list of the names of each special adviser employed by my Department since I became the Minister in this Department on 08th April 2024. These special advisers are both appointed to the Minister and their salaries are on the Principal Officer pay scale, in line with DPENDR guidelines. Advisor Start date Duration Grade ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (26 Sep 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: The Deputy may wish to note that the annual rates of maintenance and the income thresholds applied are the same for undergraduate and postgraduate students. The Student Contribution is not payable Postgraduate Students, as they are not eligible for free fees. The annual rates of maintenance grant for postgraduate students, income limits for postgraduate maintenance grants and postgraduate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (26 Sep 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: As the Deputy is aware the decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the awarding authority, SUSI to determine. Under the Student Grant Scheme for full-time courses, income from employment which represents holiday earnings outside of term time (Easter, summer and Christmas holidays) can be deducted when determining the reckonable income of an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (26 Sep 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: I made comments regarding single sex schools during the course of an interview and that is my personal opinion, and in the context of being a qualified teacher and parent.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (26 Sep 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: As the Deputy may be aware, my Department currently has three means-tested grant schemes in place to provide support to students. The main support available to assist students with the cost of attending higher education is the Student Grant Scheme as administered by the awarding authority, Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) on behalf of the Department of Further and Higher Education,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (26 Sep 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: 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. Where an individual applicant has had an appeal turned down in writing by an appeals officer in SUSI and remains of the view that the scheme has not been interpreted correctly in their case, an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Contracts (1 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: My Department has previously been advised by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) that, for security reasons, not to disclose details of its cyber security operations (including details of commercial relationships, audits/exercises and expenditure) which could in any way compromise the Department’s information security posture. In particular, it is not considered appropriate to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (1 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 561 and 562 together. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are autonomous institutions responsible for their own academic affairs including the curriculum and student numbers on individual courses. The costs incurred by a HEI in increasing student places on a particular course or establishing an additional course can vary depending on a variety factors...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (1 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: The Apprenticeship Incentivisation Scheme (AIS) was a measure implemented to assist apprentices due to the particular challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Similar to other Covid-19 measures, the AIS has ceased. Under the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021 to 2025, all employers of apprentices receive financial support either through the direct payment of training allowances to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training (1 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: The resourcing and funding of the diploma in special education is a matter for the Department of Education and as such my Department does not have any remit over same. The 2018 Review of the Special Needs Assistant Scheme published by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE)recommended the provision of a national online training programme. Arising from that recommendation the...