Results 4,761-4,780 of 45,291 for speaker:Simon Harris

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Grant Payments (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: Our country is all the better for the diversity in communities across Ireland. The story of the Deputy's constituents shows people who want a bright future and the best opportunities for their children in terms of education and employment prospects while also making a contribution to Ireland, our economy and the skill shortages that exist in many workplaces. Applying for and being...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Grant Payments (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: I have nothing further to add other than to thank Deputy Flaherty and say that I will revert to him on the matter.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Grant Payments (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: We do our best.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education and Training Provision (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputies Flaherty and Niamh Smyth for tabling this question. The National Skills Council is the high-level advisory group on skills in Ireland and provides an opportunity for strategic dialogue and advice to inform Government decision-making to ensure our skills ecosystem continues to be flexible, agile and responsive to the needs of the future world of work. A key work plan...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: Not to get ahead of myself, but I know from conversations I have had with the UU, ATU, the shared island unit and others that there is strong and exciting pipeline of projects coming from both ATU Letterkenny and UU Derry with respect to things they can do together. These are in the research space and the medical education space, especially. The senior management teams of both ATU Donegal...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: This is a tricky question for me because usually when I am asked if I have engaged with another Department I can say I will, but I am currently the Minister for Justice as well so it is a question asking whether have I engaged with myself, which I do regularly.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputies Gino Kenny and Boyd Barrett for the question. It is an important issue. The quality of our researchers is fundamental to the quality of our research system and its collaboration with partners in industry and policy-makers in both Ireland and abroad. Under pillar 4 of our national research and innovation strategy, Impact 2030, we have committed to ensuring that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: I have not been made aware of the issue Deputy Conway-Walsh raised, but I will certainly become aware of it and revert to the Deputy on it. To be clear, the overall policy direction I want to go in is financially to support better our PhD research. The Deputy and I share that view. On what Deputy Kenny said, there are about 11,000 PhD and research masters students in Ireland and about...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: The RTB is not under my remit but I will seek that information. It is important to have that information. If I secure that information, I will share it with Deputy Conway-Walsh. From memory I know that my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, issued a circular in regard to ensuring that student accommodation was utilised for that purpose. There is possibly an...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: What I have responsibility for is the higher education sector, the actual direct college-owned student accommodation. There is more of that this year than there was last year, which had more than the year before that. There is more now than there was before I entered office. On the purpose-built student accommodation piece, the Deputy’s point about the private market is not an...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Pringle for raising these issues on a regular basis in terms of how we can try to get that education cluster in the north west going. Deputy Pringle may be aware that I spoke at the launch of the North West Tertiary Education Cluster last October. That was an opportunity to meet with and thank the leadership of Atlantic Technological University of Donegal, Donegal ETB, the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: I fully agree with the Deputy. As we approach the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, one of the key areas where we can do a great deal more to embed peace and to try to create economic prosperity, well-being, good jobs and skills is in the cross-Border area. It makes sense, for example, to undertake medical education. Without deviating too much from the question, it makes...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for her question. Increasing the number of people availing of apprenticeships is a key priority for me and my Department. The Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025 sets out the vision for apprenticeships. This includes new ways of structuring, funding and promoting apprenticeships to make them more accessible to employers and, crucially, to learners. To...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: First, we have never had more apprentice registrations than we saw in 2021. Registrations that year were the highest ever. That said, I appreciate the point the Deputy made. We obviously had the global pandemic but we are seeing a very significant acceleration of apprenticeships. The Deputy does not have to take my word for that. She can ask business groups around the country, the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: I am not reopening another debate on housing but I would just point out that the Housing for All targets were met in the last calendar year. There are precisely 320 public sector apprenticeships as of now, with 100 more planned for this year. If we include the semi-State sector as well, the total is 938 apprenticeships. There are 938 apprentices in the public and semi-State sectors...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: Yes, absolutely.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: I am actively working to address the supply of student accommodation. Indeed, that is probably an understatement. A unit has been established within my Department and there is really good engagement going on with both the traditional and the technological universities. We all know the challenges involved. The increasing costs of construction and financing are impacting on viability and as...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: According the HEA's Student Record System, in the 2021/22 academic year in total there were 7,200 students enrolled across all years of medicine programmes. Of these, 3,600 were non-EU students. The 2021/22 statistics are the most recent available. However, since this time, a significant agreement has been reached with the medical schools to increase the number of places for Irish and EU...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: My Department continues to prioritise strengthening our skills ecosystem to ensure it has the agility and flexibility to adapt to changing priorities in the skills and workforce development landscape, including increasingly rapid, technologically driven changes in the world of work. This focus is underpinned by the detailed and comprehensive OECD review of Ireland's National Skills Strategy...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (30 Mar 2023)

Simon Harris: The quality of our researchers is fundamental to the quality of our research system and its collaboration with partners in industry and policymakers, both in Ireland and abroad. Under Pillar 4 of our national research and innovation strategy, Impact 2030, we have committed to ensuring that researchers have the right skills development and career opportunities so that they can make their...