Results 3,201-3,220 of 45,291 for speaker:Simon Harris

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Traveller Education (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I am committed to making progress in enhancing access, participation and success for learners across further education, apprenticeships and higher education. Recent data for 2021-22 indicate that the current number of new Traveller entrants to higher education is 52. The national access plan targets 150 new entrants to higher education...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Traveller Education (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: I agree with all of that, and join with the Deputy in commending the University of Galway on all of the good work it is doing. I have had the opportunity to meet them on a few occasions specifically on the subject of Traveller participation. What I like about what they do is that it is not just about just getting somebody in the door. It is about getting somebody out the other side,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Traveller Education (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: The Deputy shows admirable ability in terms of how he got from here to there. I was pleased to visit Mountbellew in recent days and honoured to open the Aleen Cust library, named after the first female veterinary surgeon in Ireland and the UK, who was an incredible woman. I have been reading up on her in recent days. I was delighted to meet the team there and to see the good work going on...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: I acknowledge that the Deputy raises this issue with me regularly. Every year since I became Minister, we have made improvements to PhD stipends, and rightly so because they are not where they need to be. The first change we made was to address a bizarre discrepancy that existed between the stipend for a PhD researcher with the Irish Research Council and that for a PhD researcher with...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: I did not say that.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: Of course, what I say is true in that I can direct only agencies under my remit, but the Deputy is entirely correct that, generally, other parts of government follow suit as well. The main funders of PhD researchers, from a State point of view, include individual institutions, SFI, the IRC, Teagasc and the HRB. The HRB has moved, the IRC and SFI are now moving and Teagasc will consider the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: I do know what the issues are and I have engaged with many of our PhD researchers. As the Deputy knows and as I said earlier, a second report that was due from the co-chairs has been received by my Department and will be considered and published in the coming weeks. That report was charged with looking at a variety of other issues above and beyond the issue of stipends, and I know those...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: As the Deputy well knows, student accommodation is addressed through capital. The Government made clear on budget day, in advance of budget day and in a previous Government decision that in the national development plan, NDP, the uplift and extra funding in capital would be dealt with through the NDP review process, which is due to conclude around the end of the year. That will be an...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Budget 2024 (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: The Deputy and I must talk to different students, which is entirely possible. I have met many students and parents who really welcome that rather than having to wait until next September for a fee reduction that might happen, we have taken the opportunity in the cost-of-living package to ensure tens of thousands of students will get €1,000 back before Christmas and tens of thousands...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Budget 2024 (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: I am sure the Deputy will agree that we must start with those most in need. Ministers have to work with the resources that are available and it is right to target them at those most in need. From next September, any student with a household income below €56,000 will pay a grand total of zero in undergraduate fees. I often see that among secondary school students, many of them think...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Budget 2024 (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: My vision on this is really clear. I believe education is a public good and that people should have a right to access it regardless of their means. Free education in Ireland now starts at age two, with free preschool education, and goes right the way through. That should continue on through to an undergraduate degree. Some people will go to college full time, some part time and others...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Budget 2024 (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: I am once again providing a significant package of measures to support students. We acknowledge that cost is a barrier to education and we’re continuing to break down that barrier and make further and higher education more accessible for more people. For the second year in a row, I have reduced the student contribution fee by €1,000 for undergraduate students eligible for free...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: In recognition of the need to stimulate supply of student accommodation, the Government has supported my Department to develop policy responses to stimulate the development of new and additional student accommodation for public higher education institutions. In November 2022, Government approved investment of €1 million in 2023/2024 to assist our Technological Universities to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for her question. The Deputy will be aware that Cavan Monaghan ETBs proposal for Cavan Town under the College of the Future Major Projects fund was successful at the first stage of the assessment process. This proposal has moved to the next stage of development, which involves the development of a preliminary business case which is a fundamental part of the public spending...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: All higher education institutions, continue to support their students to find accommodation in the private rental sector through, for example, the encouragement of room rental or ‘student digs’ in family homes. This summer I supported an advertising campaign which ran on radio, social media and national press. Central to the messaging is the ability to avail of tax relief under...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: My Department is strongly committed to supporting the health of the population through the provision of graduates with the key competencies and skills to be effective in the health workforce, and support a range of clinical teams in our health services. My officials are actively engaging with the Department of Health on determining the longer term skills needs of the healthcare services,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: The expansion of Ireland’s electric vehicle fleet is a key objective in the Climate Action Plan 2023. We have an ambitious target of 30% of our private car fleet having made the switch to electric vehicles by 2030. This development will result in significant new skills requirements. The Expert Group for Future Skills Needs has estimated that the electrification of our private car fleet...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Cúrsaí Gaeilge (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: Tá ról ríthábhachtach ag an gcóras ardoideachais i gcur chun cinn na Gaeilge, le raon leathan cúrsaí ar fáil trí Ghaeilge. Léiríonn staitisticí tuairisceáin an HEA don bhliain acadúil seo caite 97 cúrsa a thairgeann Gaeilge mar mhórábhar nó mar mhionábhar, lena n-áirítear iad siúd a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Staff (19 Oct 2023)

Simon Harris: Since the establishment of this Department, we have made a number of changes to help PhD researchers. The first was to increase the Irish Research Council stipend to match that of Science Foundation Ireland. Then, in Budget 2023, I was pleased to be able to increase the stipend to €19,000 for 2023 for PhD students currently supported by Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Staff (19 Oct 2023)

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 reflects the objective, under the dedicated Talent Pillar of Impact 2030, Ireland’s national research and innovation strategy, for a consistent research student experience across funders, institutions and research disciplines. The...