Results 8,121-8,140 of 45,495 for speaker:Simon Harris

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: Hear, hear.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I am sure the Deputy did not mean it. I presume the Sinn Féin Party is very much aware of my commitments under the Good Friday Agreement as part of the Irish Government to have an active interest in many things relating to Northern Ireland. The Deputy will ask me in the Higher Education Authority legislation to take an all-island approach, and I do and I will do so. That is why I...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Educational Disadvantage (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Moynihan very much for raising this issue, which I know is one in which he has a particular interest. Development of the new strategic action plan for equity, participation and success in higher education, which I call the national access and inclusion plan, is at its very final stage. The plan is being developed collaboratively between my Department and the Higher Education...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Educational Disadvantage (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: The submissions process has formally closed but it is never too late to submit a good idea. If there are any further groups or ideas the Deputy wishes to bring forward, I will be very happy to hear from them. The Deputy is 100% right as he has described those at the margins. One of the things a group or stakeholder driving the strategy said was that there needed to be additional priority...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I find myself in full agreement with the Deputy. To be honest, one of my concerns in respect of the national access plan, which has achieved a lot, is exactly what she and Senator Hoey have identified, that is, there are people with disabilities not counted within those figures. I think of students with autism or those with intellectual disabilities or dyslexia. There are others who are...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I will absolutely take that on board. I present the issue as two separate and distinct but very much interdependent parts, as does her question, in fairness. There is the capital piece, on which I expect we will make further progress through both the existing fund we have in place for students with disabilities and the drawdown of that fund to provide facilities such as sensory rooms that...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: Sinn Féin's government in Northern Ireland has decided that the A-levels should proceed. It did not offer anybody in Northern Ireland a choice. I do not think young people who look across the island will ignore the breathtaking hypocrisy of the stance that Sinn Féin has about the exams down here and the stance it has about the exams up there. I have met students, as I am sure the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: Sinn Féin has representation in the North. We generally engage constructively, but taking young people for fools is not going to wash at all.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: The leader of Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland is, or at least was, the joint head of the Government. A-levels are going ahead with no predicted or calculated grades. Where Sinn Féin is in government, it is not making the announcement that it is shouting and roaring for down here in opposition. Be that as it may, Sinn Féin is actually a partitionist party when it comes to the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: It has to be said; it cannot just be one-way traffic. It cannot just be given; it has to be taken as well

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: If Sinn Féin is serious about government, it needs to be consistent in its stance, North and South. With regard to this issue and what steps I am taking, this Government has increased the places in third level by 6,000 over the past two years. That is a massive increase. It is important that leaving certificate students hear that the number of applications to the CAO on deadline...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: That is wrong.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I fully agree with the Deputy that this year should not just be about announcing an additional number of college places. More college places will be available this year. As the Deputy rightly suggested, it has been the case in previous years as well. Budget 2022 provided approximately €20 million for extra growth in the higher education sector. There will be additional funding and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: No, it is not. It is about pathways, actually. It is about recognising that different students will want to do different things. I think the Deputy and I agree that it is about broadening the conversation beyond just higher education to further education apprenticeships. It is about ending the snobby and elitist view that when someone goes to a school, the student believes that the only...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for the question, which is very timely. I have some positive news and perhaps we can build on it. Inclusion is a core goal for my Department, for the House and for Members on all sides of this House. It is about ensuring that there is access and equity of access for all students of both further and higher education. It is most likely that we will publish a new national...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: The Student Assistance Fund is a critical support which is allocated by my Department to higher education institutions. The fund has a dual focus. It is designed to support students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds with ongoing needs for financial support. It also to provide emergency financial assistance for other students. Students can apply for supports from this fund...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Admissions (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: Ireland has one of the most highly education populations in the world, with almost two thirds of students progressing to higher education within five years of completing their secondary education. The majority of CAO offers are for a first preference course, and about 80% of applicants receive at least one offer. Last year more applicants than ever before were offered and accepted a place in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Caiteachas Ranna (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: Déantar foráil i mbuiséad mo Roinne le haghaidh: i) tuarastail agus pinsin oibrithe na hearnála poiblí san ardoideachas, sa bhreisoideachas agus sna hearnála taighde, ii) costais reatha ó lá go lá agus riachtanais infheistíochta caipitil na n-institiúidí ardoideachais agus breisoideachais, iii) taighde Éireannach lena...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I will shortly be bringing proposals for a future funding and reform framework to Government, in response to the report on future sustainability of further and higher education and also the review of the student grant scheme. I am very clear that, from a policy perspective, addressing the sustainability of the higher education system must proceed in tandem with measures which address the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I am very conscious of the challenges faced by students in relation to student accommodation, and my Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage are working closely together to address these issues. The Government has taken measures to address affordability and rent increases. Rent increases in student accommodation are capped under the Rent Pressure Zones....