Results 61-80 of 6,558 for speaker:James Lawless

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: We might do that. I think that is worth doing. On CERN, the Deputy asked about C5. That is close to my heart as well. That again epitomises our ambition. Really, we should be taking our place at CERN and we are now, thankfully. It is something I have long campaigned for. I was pleased to be able to do that when I became a Minister. We are joining that as of this month, I think, but...

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: Absolutely, because it is an ongoing commitment. We are joining as associate members. I share the aspiration that we would become full members, but the feedback from the physics community that are closest to this is that we are probably not ready yet to go the full way because there is an expectation around the level of activity on projects and researchers and engagement from the nation...

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: The Deputy is dead right. There was a measure brought in recently, and I think there was general cross-party support for it, to reduce the length of the typical student lease to 41 weeks from 51 weeks, but that does not suit everybody either. We may begin to see the advent, particularly with the increase of purpose-built student accommodation, of a change to the typical student experience...

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: That is true as well, yes.

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: Definitely. That is a good point.

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: Your own ETB, LMETB, is exemplary. I visited it with you, both the advanced centre and Dundalk IT but also the ETB centre for advanced manufacturing. They are an outstanding example. I know they have been ambitious to do a lot more as well. There is an increase of €40 million on 2024. In terms of the capital allocation to the FET sector overall, there is €106 million...

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I think for new buildings, that would come in as part of the building standards. For the existing estate-----

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: So assisted technology and disability enhancements and that sort of thing. We might come back to you on that-----

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: Absolutely. As I mentioned earlier in response to Deputy Conway's question, I have increased the investment into provision for students with disabilities. We have a number of different programmes. PATH 4 is for students with intellectual disabilities, but there are a number of different types of disability, obviously, and there is a disability demonstration project being put together,...

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I thank the Deputy. Indeed, it has been a couple of long days and there are probably many more to come, but if we join the army, we have to soldier. That is part of the job of being a Minister. I was on site in other colleges this morning before I came here as well, so I have been on the road already. There will many more days like it. On student fees, the options paper, which I...

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: What was the question, sorry?

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: Okay. The SOLAS issues. My Department gave SOLAS an increase last year of €41 million across the board. Some ETBs are experiencing funding difficulties. One of the reasons for that is because apprentices took longer to exit phase 2 than they should have. There was a backlog in the system last year and the year before. This meant that ETBs underestimated the cost of having those...

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I thank the Deputy. I think I agree with everything he said. There are a number of points. I have spoken about the eligibility limit a lot recently. The eligibility limit in this revision increases to €115,000 at the higher end. Every threshold in the system has increased by 15%. That brings more people than ever before into the SUSI system for different grants and supports. I...

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I thank the Deputy. On the numbers for State-sponsored student accommodation, I think I mentioned earlier that there is €100 million allocated to the first phase, which is sort of an acceleration phase. There was a general call-out done on that and the three institutions that put their hands up and said they were ready to go with it were Maynooth, UCD and DCU. Maynooth moved quickly...

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I thank the Deputy. That was very well said. On the point on making money, I stated when responding to parliamentary questions last night that the median wage of an apprentice two years out is €935 per week and that 90% of the apprentices stick with it. Sometimes we talk about the rates when apprentices enter the system but they do well when they come out the far side of it. They...

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I will take the last question first. I thank the Deputy for his views, which were very helpful. Subhead B15, concerning miscellaneous grants and services, refers to what may not necessarily fit under existing subheads. With regard to healthcare expansion, for example, there is a sum of €2.8 million. There is a sum of €1.45 million in the additional and miscellaneous...

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I thank Deputy McGettigan. I have not passed a budget yet. I am working with the budget from my predecessor and the Department as I found it when I came in. This is my first provision of Estimates that I am bringing before the committee. I will do my own budget in October where I will put my stamp on things in terms of the issues we are talking about today and our shared interests. I...

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: Does the Deputy know what it was last September?

Select Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Revised) (9 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: No, it was €3,000 last September, €3,000 the September before that and €3,000-----