Results 7,541-7,560 of 46,267 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Costs (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: The main support available to assist postgraduate students with the cost of attending higher education is the Student Grant Scheme. Under the Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to eligible students attending an approved full-time course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 621 and 622 together. The Commis Chef Apprenticeship Programme was established by lead industry stakeholders such as the Irish Hotels Federation and the Restaurants Association of Ireland. It is a two year programme and successful apprentices become a fully qualified Commis chef, with a QQI Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Culinary Arts. The numbers registered...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Institutes of Technology (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: It is a matter for the governing body of a higher education institution (HEI) as to the strategic positioning of the institution on the higher education landscape. Dundalk Institute of Technology is understood to be currently pursuing a trajectory to achieve technological university (TU) status. The Institute is in receipt of Exchequer funding under the Transformation Fund and advice from...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: Ireland has a highly developed national skills system across further and higher education and apprenticeship, lifelong learning and human capital development, under the framework of the National Skills Strategy, and underpinned by strong partnership with key stakeholders. It is firmly focused on responding in an agile and flexible way to priority skill needs, and to changes in the world of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: The ‘Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025’sets out new ways of structuring, funding, and promoting apprenticeships to make apprenticeship accessible to employers and learners. The Plan seeks to deliver on a target of 10,000 apprenticeship registrations per annum, across a wide range of programmes, by 2025. The expansion of apprenticeship across all sectors has widened the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: A key commitment of the ‘Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025’ is to grow the number of apprenticeship registrations across the public service, including local authorities, to reach 750 annual registrations by 2025. This represents a more than seven-fold increase on 2020 registrations and will support a long-term goal of 7% of the apprentice population being employed by...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Admissions (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: My Department does not produce projections of higher education enrolment on a regional level, and so the data requested by the Deputy is not available. The statistics section of the Department of Education produce national level projections of full-time enrolment in higher education, which are available at the link below. www.gov.ie/en/collection/projections/ The number of new entrants in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: The Department understands that, across both private and HEI-owned purpose built student accommodation, there is currently in the region of 5,000 bedspaces is available in Cork City. The Department is aware of a number of developments on site expected to add in the region of 1,000 further beds in 2022.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: My Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to HEA designated higher education institutions. The HEA allocates this funding to the institutions via the recurrent funding model. The amount provided under my Departments B4 subhead and the National Training Fund (NTF) Enterprise Focused Higher Education provision are included in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 631 and 632 together. The Education Shared Business Service (ESBS) which operates under the remit of the Department of Education act as a paying agent on behalf of Education and Training boards ETBs and accordingly, Apprentices are paid training allowances via the PeopleXD system by ESBS while they undertake off-the-job training. All Apprentices are registered...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: The main support to students attending higher education is the Student Grant Scheme. Under the Student Grant Scheme, eligible candidates may receive funding, provided they are attending an approved course at an approved institution and meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those which relate to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment (progression) and means. Under...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 634, 635, 636, 637, 638 and 639 together. The details requested by the Deputy for PQ numbers 39367, 39368, 39369 and 39370 are in the table linked below. Due to the complex nature of the request in PQ’s 39365 and 39366, I am advised that SUSI, who are the awarding authority require some additional time to review and provide the information requested by...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: Current skills provision in this area covers the entire tertiary education system. A dynamic and evolving economy will always have skills demands and challenges. Our imperative is to ensure agility and responsiveness in the skills ecosystem. Through 2022 Ireland, in partnership with the OECD, is reviewing Ireland’s skills strategies, policies and approaches to help us ensure that our...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Education and the UNCRPD: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: I thank the committee for the opportunity to join in this important discussion today on how we align education in Ireland with the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, UNCRPD. I want to commend the work of the Joint Committee of Disability Matters and I thank the members for the work they are doing in applying such a focus to this issue. It is really important that the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Education and the UNCRPD: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy. I note her genuinely interest in this area. She raised several issues. I am pleased to hear that the issue experienced by the individual to whom she referred was resolved. I am still frustrated that it occurred. The fund for students with disabilities is meant to be student-centred. In general, the feedback I get is that it is. If the person in question would like...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Education and the UNCRPD: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: Correct.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Education and the UNCRPD: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: The Senator makes a valid point. I am thinking of our experience where we rolled out training around consent and taking a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment. As a result of putting a real laser focus on that there has been a massive increase in staff going for training. I think the Senator is right. Under the new HEA Bill, which will hopefully become the HEA Act in autumn, it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Education and the UNCRPD: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Ellis. Yes, for the first time, people with intellectual disabilities will be there as a priority group. We obviously will be working with the National Disability Authority, as the Deputy rightly said, around definitions and accuracy around this. I have in front of me figures from a document the National Disability Authority, which, by the way, does incredible work, gave to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Education and the UNCRPD: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Cairns for her questions. I will take them in sequence. The issue of people leaving before completion or dropping out of education is key. I am being very blunt about this. It is flattering the targets and our reporting against them. We are, objectively, making progress on progress on access, albeit that the figures are not as high as they need to be. However, we are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Education and the UNCRPD: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Simon Harris: That is an important thing to push for and we all share a view on the need to move on that. We are moving on it. We decided not to wait for the budget to put in place money for PATH 4 to support students in colleges in September. All students who are starting or returning to college, as well as all students, including students with a disability, will see the benefit of the universal design...