Results 2,581-2,600 of 17,012 for speaker:Paul Kehoe

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: I will give the Deputy another minute. We are running short on time and I have a number of questions myself. I have already given the Deputy a second bite of the cherry.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: I have a few questions now for Mr. Hourihan and for Mr. English and I will race through them. I am aware that they are both volunteers in the WorldSkills programme. Does the programme have any full-time permanent employees on the Irish side? No. it does not. What Government or State funding does World Skills Ireland get to run the WorldSkills programme and similar programmes that they...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: When the Irish team is successful on the WorldSkills stage there are organisations - I will not say they take credit - that are always out there to publicise and quite rightly so. What often annoys me is that in publicising it there should be financial resources in return for the work the witnesses do and the achievements of the apprentices. It is something I will definitely follow up with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: To borrow an old phrase, there is a lot done but a lot more to do.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: I was reading an article in a business magazine by the CEO of SOLAS, Andrew Brownlee. He states implementation of the national action plan for apprenticeships from 2021 to 2025 is well under way and excellent progress has been made on the deliverables. There are many more apprenticeships now and Mr. Brownlee mentioned wind turbine technicians and manufacturing data integration. Mr....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: Mr. Twomey has appeared before the committee before. People experience a financial strain when they try to do an apprenticeship and keep a car on the road, and pay for accommodation and associated costs. In Dublin there is a greater financial pressure to pay for accommodation than down the country although I think that rent is nearly the same all over the country in the past 12 to 24...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: Mr. McSherry should not have said that publicly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: I worked in the construction game before entering politics so I know quite a lot about the industry. An awful lot of block layers never did an apprenticeship or anything like that. Their apprenticeship was simply starting work at 17 or 18 years of age. Can Mr. McSherry tell me if he knows of many people around his age who ditched an apprenticeship but are now doing what he is doing? I know...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: I thank Mr. McSherry and I will bring him back in later. Can Mr. Twomey answer the same question on whether the availability of grants and supports similar to what is available to third level students would make apprenticeships more attractive?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: In terms of people emigrating after completing apprenticeships, most nurses, teachers or whatever go abroad for one, five or whatever number of years for work experience. Are there many in this cohort who emigrate after doing their apprenticeship and what is the reason for that? Chefs are sought all over the world. There is a scarcity of them here and the Restaurants Association of Ireland...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: My apologies. I put down "chef" but I just read "logistics" here. I know a company in Wexford would take Ms Yeates on tomorrow morning. I will call on Mr. English and Mr. Hourihan to wrap up.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: Please.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: No bother. If Mr. Hourigan sends that on to the secretariat, we can arrange transport at the committee together or whatever the story is. I thank Mr. Hourigan, Mr. English, Mr. McSherry, Ms Yeates, Ms Leane and Mr. Twomey for appearing before the committee this morning. I can tell Mr. McSherry that there are plenty of jobs in County Wexford. There is a scarcity. I have horror stories....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: I will invite the Minister to make a brief opening statement, followed by members, who will be curtailed to five minutes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: Who did I say was next? Senator Dolan will be followed by Deputy Ó Cathasaigh.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: I thank Mr. English. We will now go to the members. First up is Deputy Conway-Walsh, followed by Deputy Jim O'Callaghan. If any of the competitors want to contribute to any of the questions, they can raise their hands.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: I had a question in the same vein as that of Deputy O'Sullivan on the 60:40 funding divide. Will the Minister comment on the TUs being able to borrow for student accommodation? When does the Minister think TUs will be able to borrow for student accommodation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: The chairs of the TUs came before the committee. I encouraged them to come together to come up with imaginative proposals to take to the Department instead of going separately.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: Before the Minister arrived, we had apprenticeship students before the committee. One of the biggest issues they raised was their finances as they go through the apprenticeship programme and how pressurised they are in paying for accommodation and putting a car on the road. Is there any way they can be included in the SUSI format? We want to entice and encourage more apprenticeships. In...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2022)

Paul Kehoe: As mentioned, I understand that all students have to buy materials, etc., but an apprentice blocklayer told us this morning that he had to spend up to €5,000 on tools and other equipment. That is a fair cost, in addition to the expense of accommodation, travel and everything else.