Results 761-780 of 10,490 for speaker:Patrick O'Donovan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: This Department's Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025 seeks to significantly increase the footprint of apprenticeship within the education landscape, while ensuring that apprenticeships are open and accessible, seen as a viable and exciting career path, and delivering current and future skills needs. Pertaining to the Deputy's query is objective 5 of the Action Plan to move towards a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: My Department has not been made aware of any plans to develop Further Education College, ó Fiaich Institute, Dundalk, Co. Louth. However, my Department is willing to work collaboratively with all higher education institutions and Education Training Boards on the development of capital projects in line with their established masterplans.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: There are currently no grants available to the HEI sector, including the TUs, for the development of purpose built student accommodation. As a result of the NDP review, the Government committed €100m to progress over 1,000 new student beds in April 2024. This allocation enables the activation of Phase 1 of UCD’s stalled student project for delivery of 493 student beds for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: Under the free fees initiative (FFI), the State provides funding toward the tuition fee costs of eligible full time undergraduate higher education students with students paying the student contribution of €3,000 per annum. The State pays the student contribution (in full or part) on behalf of students who qualify under the student grant scheme administered by SUSI. The data to allow...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: The Deputy will be aware that the Government approved reductions of up to €1,000 in the student contribution payable by free fees eligible undergraduate students for academic years 2022/23 and 2023/24.These once-off measures formed part of a wider cost of living support programme in Budgets 2023 and 2024. Concomitantly with the student contribution reductions applied under Budget 2024,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 2627 and 2645 together. All 75 apprenticeship programmes are undertaken under a contract of employment and is agreed between the employer and the apprentice. For the 25 Craft Apprenticeship programmes, the minimum rates of pay apply and are either agreed within the relevant sector, or are set out in legally binding Sectoral Employment Orders recommended by the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: International Students (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: The was signed into law by the President of Ireland on 22 December 2021. State bodies are required to make all forms, documents, and reports available in both English and Irish under the Official Languages Act. This new legislation is a strengthening of the Official Languages Act 2003 and it is widely recognised that it will make a significant contribution to the quality of services in Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: International Students (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: As this is a hypothetical situation it would not be appropriate to estimate the costs involved. The Student Assistance Fund (SAF) provides financial assistance to students experiencing financial difficulties while attending higher education. Students can be assisted towards costs such as rent, childcare, transport and costs associated with the provision of books/class materials. Students who...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: As the Deputy is aware, graduate entry medicine (GEM) is a pathway for degree holders who want to pursue a medical career on an accelerated four year programme. Students pursuing GEM programmes do so as second degree courses and consequently are not eligible for free fees funding. They are also not eligible for funding under the Student Grant Scheme as they do not meet the progression...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Costs (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), as autonomous bodies, are responsible for their own academic affairs. The ancillary costs that may apply to a higher education course can vary depending on a variety factors including the type of course and the curriculum requirements of the relevant provider. My Department does not collect data on the costs incurred by institutions or students in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Cross-Border Co-operation (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: My Department does not have any costings for the development of such a website. Information on courses available in further and higher education institutions in Ireland and Northern Ireland are currently available on the Qualifax website at .

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Costs (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: As part of the Government's Budget 2024 cost of living measures, Post Graduate Students who met the eligibility criteria for a Postgraduate Fee Contribution Grant benefited from a once off increase in this grant of €1,000 from €4,000 to €5,000 during the 2023/24 academic year. Maintenance grants for all postgraduate students are being re-introduced from September 2024 for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Costs (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: The student maintenance grant is a contribution towards the living costs of a student with incremental allowances towards reckonable income where there are 4 or more dependent children. The estimated cost of reducing the categories of dependants as outlined by the Deputy above is in the range of €13m to €14m. It is estimated this could affect approximately 8,000 to 8,500...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: I thank the Deputy for raising matters in relation to the cost of providing supports for postgraduate and international students. The Deputy will be aware that there are supports available to eligible students undertaking postgraduate study under the student grant scheme. Details of these postgraduate grant supports are available at: Higher education institutions are autonomous bodies and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Costs (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: The Irish Research eLibrary (IReL) is a nationally funded e-resource licensing consortium providing access to leading science, technology and medicine and humanities and social sciences resources on behalf of participating Irish publicly funded HEIs. IReL delivers quality peer-reviewed online research publications including journals, ebooks, databases and index and abstracting services. In...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: Ordinarily, international students wishing to study in Ireland must be able to demonstrate that they can support themselves financially in order to obtain permission to study here. However, there are supports in place for those who have arrived in Ireland as refugees. Under the EU Temporary Protection Directive, those fleeing Russia's war in Ukraine are supported via a range of measures to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: The decision on eligibility for a student grant, and the rate payable to applicants deemed eligible for that grant is a matter for SUSI to determine having regard to the terms and conditions of the Scheme. Under the terms of the student grant scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding including those which relate to nationality, residency,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Costs (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: The Student Grant Scheme is a means-tested scheme. The numbers of students undertaking fully online programmes or micro-credentials who would meet the means tested criteria and other eligibility criteria for SUSI is not held by my Department and therefore I cannot provide an estimate as requested.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Costs (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: The Student Grant Scheme is targeted at those students who are most in need of financial assistance and the Special Rate of grant is a key tool in targeting student grant assistance at the cohort of students who are most in need. The qualifying criteria for the special rate of maintenance grant in the 2024 Student Grant Scheme are as follows: (i) The student must qualify for the standard rate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Costs (23 Jul 2024)

Patrick O'Donovan: For student grant purposes, students are categorised according to their circumstances either as students dependent on parents or a legal guardian, or as independent mature students. Each year a significant number of student grant applicants are assessed as either dependent students or independent students and awarded student supports on that basis. While SUSI has statistics on dependent...