Results 7,301-7,320 of 46,267 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Schemes (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: Under the Department's Free Fees Initiative (FFI), the Exchequer pays tuition fees on behalf of eligible first-time undergraduate students attending approved full-time undergraduate courses. In order to qualify for funding under the Department’s Free Fees Initiative, students must meet the criteria of the scheme and be attending an approved course. In the context of limited public...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: Apprenticeships are employer led demand driven educational and training programmes that aim to develop the skills of an apprentice in order to meet the needs of industry and the labour market. As apprentices are employees, the demand for and number of apprentices is primarily dictated by the employers in any area or sector. The Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025 sets out new ways of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: The HEA has reported a total of 10,013 full time PhD students in 2021/2022, with 1,543 occasional and 1,738 students undertaking a Masters by Research. The most recent Higher Education Expenditure on Research and Development (HERD) Survey 2018/19 carried out by my Department, found that there were 10,044 research students (doctoral and masters by research) in 2018, of which 6,143 (61%)...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: In May 2022, the Government agreed a sustainable funding model for higher education. Following an extensive economic assessment undertaken through the European Commission's DG Reform programme, €307 million has been identified as the level of funding required to address the current underfunding in higher education. My policy position in this regard was articulated in Funding our...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: The importance of apprenticeships in society, both now and into the future, has never been more apparent than it is today. The ‘Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025’sets out new ways of structuring, funding, and promoting apprenticeships to make apprenticeship more accessible to employers and learners. Expansion to date has widened the impact of apprenticeship to areas of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Staff (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: The information sought by the Deputy is set out in the attached tabular statement. Minister Special Advisor Cessation Date Simon Harris T.D., Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation & Science Ms. Sarah Bardon Current Ms. Deirdre Duffy Current Ms....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: As part of Budget 2023, I have secured a significant cost of living package for third level students, including a once-off €1,000 state financial support towards the undergraduate student contribution fee for higher education students eligible for my Department’s free fees schemes. Students attending part time courses are not eligible for the free fees schemes and therefore the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: Following a call for proposals under the Further Education and Training College of the Future Major Projects Fund, Longford Westmeath ETB submitted an application for development of a new FET centre on their site at Connolly Barracks in Longford. As part of the agreed process for appraisal of major FET capital projects, a Strategic Assessment Report in relation to this proposal was...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Cost of Living Issues (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: The placement requirement for qualification as a social care worker in Ireland is determined by CORU, the Health and Social Care Professionals Council. The Minister for Health has responsibility for CORU and queries related to placements and payments for social care students should be addressed to my colleague in the first instance.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Schemes (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: The Taoiseach and I recently launched Innovate for Ireland, which is a new partnership between industry and the Government to recruit and retain research talent to Ireland. Innovate for Ireland should commence in 2023 and the initial phase will seek to attract up to 400 high calibre PhD students to undertake research in Ireland that tackles national and global grand challenges such as climate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: The HEA has reported a total of 10,013 full time PhD students in 2021/2022, with 1,543 occasional and 1,738 students undertaking a Masters by Research. The most recent Higher Education Expenditure on Research and Development (HERD) Survey 2018/19 carried out by my Department, found that there were 10,044 research students (doctoral and masters by research) in 2018, of which 6,143 (61%)...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Cost of Living Issues (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: I was happy to be able to announce that as part of the cost of living measures in Budget 2023, postgraduate students who meet the eligibility criteria for a Postgraduate Fee Contribution Grant will receive a once-off increase of €1,000 in the grant, which is increasing from €3,500 to €4,500 and is due to be paid by the end of 2022. This measure excludes postgraduate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: As the Deputy requested, please find attached the details of the capital public expenditure at University College Dublin (UCD) since 2018. Programme/ Project 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 (to date) Confucius €2,004,833 HESIF I 0 €379,000 ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Sport and Recreational Development (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: I can confirm that the property referred to by the Deputy is in the ownership of Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin). Under the terms of the Grangegorman Development Agency (GDA) Act 2005, both TU Dublin and the GDA are responsible for the disposals of the assets. Both the GDA and TU Dublin are mandated by the 2005 Act to obtain the best value from any property disposal, so as to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Budget 2023 (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: As part of Budget 2023, I have secured a significant cost of living package for third level students including a once-off €1,000 state financial support towards the undergraduate student contribution fee for higher education students eligible for my Department’s free fees schemes. This will assist students with the costs of attending higher education and will help alleviate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Costs (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: Under my Department's student grant scheme, eligible candidates may receive funding provided they are attending an approved course at an approved institution, as defined in the scheme. The definition of an approved course is set out in Section 8 of the Student Support Act 2011 and Regulation 4 of the Student Support Regulations 2022. The course to which the Deputy refers is not an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 618, 621 and 628 together. My Department is focused on driving a skills ecosystem and skills agenda in Ireland which is agile and flexible priority skill needs, and to changes in the world of work driven by technology, to ensure Ireland has a skilled and productive workforce. Our approach to addressing these challenges is firmly rooted in collaborative...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 619, 620, 623, 624, 626 and 629 together. Our higher education system has expanded significantly over the past number of years, from 209,300 enrolments in 2014, to 246,299 enrolments in 2021/ 2022. The most recent projections of full-time enrolment in higher education predict that enrolments will rise a further 13% over the next decade, and work is ongoing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (18 Oct 2022)

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. In July, the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, and I jointly announced an additional 60 places in medicine programmes for this...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (18 Oct 2022)

Simon Harris: The Deputy will be aware that there are a number of Programme for Government (PfG) commitments aimed at addressing bullying, including a commitment to commission surveys of staff and students in the areas of harassment, sexual harassment, and bullying in higher education. Our higher education institutions have a duty of to ensure that staff and students have a safe environment to study and...