Results 421-440 of 10,490 for speaker:Patrick O'Donovan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (16 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: 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 including the type of course and the individual circumstances...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (16 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: With reference to PQ 41545/24 which is believed to relate to the same matter. For the 25 craft apprenticeship programmes including for the motor mechanic programme, the sectoral gross wage norms are either agreed within the relevant sector through collective bargaining agreements, or are set out in legally binding Sectoral Employment Orders recommended by the Labour Court. Periods of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Data Protection (16 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: Please see below in tabular form the number of data breaches that occurred in my department since its establishment in 2020 and to date in 2024, and the numbers which were reported to the Data Protection Commission (the remainder were deemed to be of no risk due to their nature and therefore were not required to be reported to the DPC). Year No. of Breaches No. of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (16 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: For student grants purposes, students are categorised according to their circumstances either as students dependent on parents or a legal guardian, or as independent mature students. A student may be assessed as an independent mature student if he or she has attained the age of 23 on the 1st of January of the year of first entry to an approved course or of re-entry following a break in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (16 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: My Department has not sought external public relations assistance at any time since it's establishment.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Consultations (16 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: Attached is a report which reflects expenditure on consultancy fees, as recorded by my Department's Finance Unit, since the establishment of the Department in 2020 and up to 2024.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Advertising (16 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: Below is the advertising spend by my Department since it's establishment broken down by traditional and online. Year Traditional(Press Radio and Outdoor) Online Total Advertising Spend 2021 63,357.74 20,728.92 €84,088.65 2022 42,208.24 11,252.41 €53,460.65 ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Legal Cases (16 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: I can clarify for the Deputy that no legal cases have been taken against my Department in 2024. This follows a similar response to a Parliamentary Question earlier in 2024 when the number for 2024 was zero. The number of cases taken against my Department over previous years is outlined in the table below. The Chief State Solicitor's Office, as Government solicitor, absorbs the costs of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Budget 2025 (16 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: Budget 2024 contains a package of measures to support households with the cost of living. These cost of living measures include a €1,000 reduction in the student contribution fee for Free Fees eligible higher education students. Under the progression criteria of the Free Fees scheme, it is not possible for a students to avail of free fees where they are undertaking a second course...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Commissions of Investigation (16 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: Since the establishment of my Department in 2020, my officials have not participated in or incurred any expenditure associated with any Commissions of Investigation.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (15 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: The National Retrofit Plan sets a target of installing 400,000 heat pumps into existing homes by 2030. My Department, working with partners in government departments, state agencies, and the tertiary education sector, has identified the shortage of skilled plumbers as a critical factor in achieving this target. With this in mind, heat pump technologies have been included in the revised...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (15 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: An official from my Department has advised that the two students outlined by the Deputy were refused grant assistance by SUSI for the 2023/2024 academic year. The total household reckonable income for both students was assessed as over the maximum threshold for funding for a Level 8 undergraduate course based on their 2022 household reckonable income calculation. The students did not appeal...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (15 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: As per Article 13(3) of the Student Grant Scheme 2024, as an independent mature student the applicant must be: • 23 years of age or over on 1st January of the year when they first enter/re-enter further or higher education, and • They must have been living independently from their parents/legal guardians from the October in the year prior to their first point of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (15 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: In considering the matters raised it is important to distinguish between the fees policy of an individual Higher Education Institution and the eligibility criteria of the separate student grant scheme. The higher education tuition fee payable by a student can vary depending on a variety of factors including the type of course and the student's access route. The assessment of a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Staff (15 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: When my Department was established in 2020, the communications unit consisted of 2 staff members and has since grown in line with the growth of my Department to a total of 6 staff members to date. Year ending 30/06/21 30/06/22 30/06/23 09/10/2024 PO 1 1 AP 2 2 1 2 HEO 1 1 ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Advertising (15 Oct 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: To date in 2024, my Department has run three promotional campaigns; The Building Heroes peer-to-peer social media campaign continues to grow since its launch in April, with more than three million impressions between April-August, and reaching a further 1.5 million since it started again in September. The campaign aims to change perceptions of careers in construction among the 15-25 year...