Results 2,641-2,660 of 45,291 for speaker:Simon Harris

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Visas (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: I accept the Deputy's frustration. This is an area where we have genuinely tried to do quite a bit of work as a Department over a significant period to improve the access opportunities for people through education who find themselves in Ireland through a variety of migration routes. We have made some good progress in that regard and I am proud of some of the increased supports we have put...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Visas (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: I am very happy to have a meeting with Deputy Gannon on the matter. I am happy to see if this can be considered and included in the new scheme. It will be included in the options paper, in terms of the cost of education measures we can take in advance of the budget. I am happy to have a meeting with Deputy Gannon and perhaps a constituent on this matter.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: I am a little bit perplexed about the line of inquiry but we want to come at this from every possible angle. We know there are vacant properties in the regions and in many towns where HEIs are based. The Deputy is correct when she says it is not just for technological universities but for any universities, although I think it will be of particular benefit to our technological universities....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: I do not believe these are in that space. We need to look at every way of coming at this. I know the Deputy agrees on this. We want to build purpose-built student accommodation, whether in DCU or Maynooth, but we know that it takes time to get from an idea through design, planning and construction. There could be opportunities in the meantime to look at vacant stock. I want to cast the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I have been working closely with the Minister for housing, Deputy O'Brien, on this matter. I thank him and his Department and officials for their continued support and engagement. We both agree the actions of these providers is unacceptable. While a 51-week lease may suit some third level students - perhaps those who require to be in a university...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: I am not satisfied about the 51-week contract situation. I intend to reach out to the local authorities this week to ask them to carry out an urgent assessment and I intend to work with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on legislative change in the area. This highlights the need to be less reliant on the private market and to build more college-owned student accommodation. It is the reason we...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: It is the Deputy's job and duty to keep a watchful eye on this and she will do that well but by any objective measure we have seen an increase in college-owned student accommodation and in general student accommodation this college year compared to last year. We have seen more measures to help students with the cost of rent this year than last year and an increase in the student grant this...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Visas (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy and acknowledge his long-standing interest in this. The short answer is, yes, I will give consideration to this and work with the Deputy on it. To be eligible for a student grant, an applicant has to fulfil all of the criteria of the student grant scheme, including the residency and nationality criteria. In terms of residency, a student must be ordinarily resident in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Farrell for this important question. As she knows, I recently received Government approval for an overarching policy approach for student accommodation in Ireland. This policy looks at a number of ways to stimulate supply of student accommodation, including standardised design, continued promotion of the rent-a-room scheme and recognition of the Government's commitment to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: As the Deputy knows, on a number of occasions I have brought to Cabinet short-term policy approaches that we could take to get student accommodation activated, particularly where they had planning permission. More recently, I did bring that longer term policy approach. That had a number of elements, including the vacancy element. There is not much of a mystery here. For the first time in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: I have been working with Minister O’Brien on this matter and I really want to thank him for his continued support. We both agree the actions of these providers is unacceptable. While it may suit some specific third level students, it is not desirable or affordable for the majority of the student population and we intend to take a number of actions to mitigate this barrier to accessing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: The Deputy will be aware that over the course of 2023, Kerry ETB (KETB) were supported by SOLAS in developing their Preliminary Business Case (PBC) proposal for Killarney 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. KETB submitted their business case for their FET College of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: It is anticipated that any borrowing framework for TUs would in the first instance prioritise the provision of student accommodation in line with commitments in the Government's Housing for All plan. Housing for All contains a number of key actions relating to the development of additional student accommodation supply supported by the State. It also identifies the need to examine...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: I am strongly committed to meeting electro-mobility skills requirements in light of the role of electric vehicles in supporting the achievement of Government's climate action objectives. In this context, my Department is continuing to work closely with Longford Westmeath Education and Training Board (LWETB) to establish a national eMobility Capability Centre in Mullingar. Last November...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: The Prison Education Taskforce, which I co-chair with Minister for Law Reform, James Browne TD, was established last May. With representatives from both Departments, the Irish Prison Service, SOLAS, the National Apprenticeship Office, Education and Training Boards Ireland, the Probation Service, Maynooth University and former prisoners, the Taskforce aims to improve education and upskilling...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Legislative Programme (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: My Department is currently prioritising two pieces of legislation, the Research and Innovation Bill and the Construction Safety Licensing Bill 2023. As part of Impact 2030: Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategy, the Government has approved the creation of a new statutory research funding agency “Taighde Éireann - Research Ireland”, under the aegis of my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: My Department co-leads with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications a dedicated "skills and workforce workstream" as part of the cross-government Offshore Wind Energy Programme to meet Government's ambitious targets for offshore wind capacity. The recently launched report, Building our Potential: Ireland’s Offshore Wind Skills and Talent Needs, is a key...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: Ensuring a supply of qualified vets to meet the demands of Ireland's agri-food sector is an important issue for my Department. My Department does not place a quota on the number of places on veterinary medicine courses offered by higher education institutions. The number of places provided each year is determined by the institutions themselves in line with their capacity. There are,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Reviews (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: In November 2022, I appointed Dr Andrea Johnson and Mr David Cagney to undertake an independent National Review of State Supports for PhD Researchers. This is the first time that State supports for PhD students have been considered holistically in this manner. During their exercise they met with over 35 stakeholder organisations, including an all-day workshop with student groups, and they...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (27 Feb 2024)

Simon Harris: Universities, including the University of Limerick are autonomous bodies established under statute. Universities are required to comply with all relevant Department of Public Expenditure and Reform guidelines including as appropriate, the Public Spending Code and relevant circulars. As autonomous bodies, the expenditure of a University’s income (public and private) is a matter for...