Results 3,601-3,620 of 6,798 for speaker:Rose Conway-Walsh

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Most of my questions have been answered but I want to ask about school transport under Vote 26. When did the Minister say the review will be completed? In the Supplementary Estimates, €69 million is allocated for additional places in 2022, but the difficulty is that some families are still left behind. I will give an example of a family in Charlestown. They have two children, James...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I know the Minister will agree that such situations are not acceptable. Do we understand from the figures that fees will be in reintroduced next year for the applications that will open in springtime? I urge the Minister to make free school transport permanent because of the economic cost for parents, but also because of climate change and the need to reduce emissions. Free school...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Is an evaluation of the policy decision included as part of the review to stop free school transport? The Minister is aware of the policy changes that were made after Mary Coughlan's review in 2009 or 2010. Was an evaluation done on it and is that available? How much did we save within the Department by introducing charges and making concessionary students and eligible students and all that?

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I hope it is. I will leave my questions at that.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I thank the Minister of State. I will ask first about the announcement regarding investment in student accommodation. How much funding will be allocated in 2023 to unlock those student accommodation projects that have been sitting on the shelf for years?

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Is the allocation for Galway in addition to what has already been announced? A couple of hundred were at an advanced stage. Are these figures over and above those others?

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: The bed spaces to which the Minister of State has referred are new.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I understand there are challenges in respect of financial viability. Does that mean all of the units will be affordable? Is part of the condition of the funding that all of the units that are funded by these particular projects will be affordable or will a subset of them be affordable?

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: There is a big difference between 30% and 100%. I want all of the beds to be affordable because I am afraid that a chunk of them will still command prices that are not affordable to ordinary students. We need to be careful about the deals we work out with the higher educational institutions, HEIs. All of those beds need to be affordable. That is the right way to go with our investment.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: We still have a situation where Ireland has very high fees. There are many countries in the European Union that provide third level education without any fees. We need to be examining how to go further in that direction so third level education is affordable for everybody. The Minister of State will be aware that only about half of PhD researchers are funded through the Irish Research...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: No, it was the others outside of that, not just Teagasc.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: We absolutely must focus on bringing equity to our researchers, not only for them as individuals being driven into poverty with accommodation costs and everything else, but also in the context of where Ireland is going. To stay ahead of research and development, we need to encourage more researchers. We have wonderful researchers. The Minister of State has met them and I have met with some...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: When will that review be concluded?

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Yes, if the Minister of State can. It is something we need to keep on top of.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I note here that the Minister of State claims to be providing an additional €8 million for the student assistance fund. What will be the total allocation for the fund for this academic year?

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Of course I do, and it is very valuable and useful. The students hear of the millions and millions of euro and then they are really struggling and do not have enough for their heating or for their accommodation and for other basic things. We just need to be aware of that when we are announcing an additional €8 million in funding when we do not really see an additional €8...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: We also need to be careful in that regard. Public private partnerships have long been called for. I would add a word of caution in respect of what that model ends up looking like. We must ensure we get proper value for the absolutely necessary investment. I do not believe that the €32 million is nearly enough but it is a move in the right direction. Much more than that amount will...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: No, it is okay. I am concerned that caps are being put on the funding for some of the colleges, and I have been made aware that students have been told they will only get half as much as they got last year. I spoke with the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, about this previously. Some of the colleges in the west were told this. It is of concern to me. Also, we need to be careful around how...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary)
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Rose Conway-Walsh: No. I will leave something for the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, to address in the morning.