Results 441-460 of 1,023,464 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Ciarán Cuffe OR speaker:Michael McNamara OR speaker:Danny Healy-Rae) in 'Committee meetings'

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education Costs (23 May 2024)

Education Costs

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education Costs (23 May 2024)

Richard Boyd Barrett: 6. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he is considering further funding to abolish higher education tuition fees and move to a fully free public education system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19521/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education Costs (23 May 2024)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I have never thought that fees for higher education made any sense. Why on earth would one ration access to higher education, college or university? But when we are looking at absolutely chronic skills and labour shortages in just about every sector of our society at the moment, is it not time to remove all obstacles to people getting trained, skilled and educated in key areas where we need...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education Costs (23 May 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for raising matters on the cost of supporting students and higher education tuition fees. As the Deputy will be aware and will appreciate, at this time it is not possible to provide an indication of the measures that may be introduced in budget 2025. However, in advance of budget 2025, I will be publishing an options paper which will set out the various...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education Costs (23 May 2024)

Richard Boyd Barrett: These are under-pressure, slow and incremental moves by the Government. We are in a very serious situation, however, and we need a bit of bold and radical thinking. Take, for example, the area of special needs which I and others have been campaigning on, particularly over recent times because of such a dire situation there. There is a lack of teachers, special education teachers,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (23 May 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: Strong demand for craft apprenticeships, which is a good thing, reflecting a very buoyant construction sector, has resulted in a 25% increase in craft apprenticeship registrations since 2019. My Department is overseeing the implementation of a plan put in place by the National Apprenticeship Office which has, to date, nearly halved the number of craft apprentices waiting more than six...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (23 May 2024)

Mairead Farrell: The Minister's own Department and SOLAS recently produced the Report on the Analysis of Skills for Residential Construction & Retrofitting 2023-2030. That report estimated that we need to increase the size of the construction sector by 50,831 new entrants by the year 2030 if we are to meet our targets. What is interesting is that the report used 2019 as its base year. Between 2019...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (23 May 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: I agree with an awful lot of what the Deputy said, having grown up in a house where we always had craft apprentices related to the construction sector. When the wheels came off the wagon in this country in 2008 and 2010 to 2011, we did not have the certainty to provide a great many of these young women and young men with gainful employment. People who would ordinarily have gone into this...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (23 May 2024)

Mairead Farrell: I totally agree with the Minister's first point about people having certainty. In addition, that again shows us the role of the State. At the end of the day, the State is the largest employer, and that is a very important point. Of course people were concerned about certainty after the crash, but I am looking at those who are in the system right now and who feel like they are not heard or...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (23 May 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: I think the Deputy needs to take solace and comfort from the fact that a substantial amount of additional money, €67 million, was put into this in the previous budget. One of the identifiers is the number of additional tutors now working in this area who were not working in it previously and whom we need to sign off people in order that they can become skilled craftspersons in their...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (23 May 2024)

Mairead Farrell: I do. I talk to SOLAS.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (23 May 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: As well as that, they are working to get people into the programmes. There is no point in saying, "If you are saying you are going to build 35,000 houses, I will build 65,000", without a plan as to how to get young people into apprenticeships.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (23 May 2024)

Mairead Farrell: But we are missing the targets.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Visas (23 May 2024)

Student Visas

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Visas (23 May 2024)

Gary Gannon: 4. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he is aware of the lack of eligibility to access student grants for persons who hold stamp 4 visas; and, if so, if he and his Department are evaluating expanding the criteria. [23525/24]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Visas (23 May 2024)

Gary Gannon: Is the Minister if he is aware of the lack of eligibility to access student grants for persons who hold stamp 4 visas and, if so, what he and his Department are doing to evaluate expanding the criteria. I hope they are doing so. I think we have raised this with the Minister's predecessor every year for the past four years. I have also contacted the present Minister's Department numerous...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Visas (23 May 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: I know Deputy Gannon has been in touch with my office with regard to a particular issue. In recent weeks I have not been available-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Visas (23 May 2024)

Gary Gannon: I know.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Visas (23 May 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: -----but my office will gladly meet him with regard to the specific issue he has. I thank Deputy Gannon for raising this question. To be eligible to apply for a student grant, you must be an Irish, EU, EEA, UK or Swiss national or you must have one of the permissions to remain provided by the Minister for Justice, which are listed in the Student Support Act 2011 and the Student Support...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Visas (23 May 2024)

Gary Gannon: I thank the Minister. I acknowledge the diligence of his office in liaising back and forth with me. From the Minister's response, I am conscious he is aware of the issue. I might just get a commitment from him that we can have a meeting-----