Results 8,161-8,180 of 45,510 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: It is my view that any reform of the Leaving Certificate must be considered in the broader context of Senior Cycle Reform – we must consider the programme, subjects, skills and objectives in the round, not just the state examinations. We must reflect on how to ensure that all students are prepared to pursue their future paths, be they academic or vocational. Although the Leaving...

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

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 73 and 143 together. My objective as Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, to ensure that there is access into either further or higher education for each person who wishes to pursue educational options at third-level. There is a diverse range of pathways in further and higher education that meet both individual and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Schemes (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I am happy to give an update on the review of the Student Grant Scheme. This was a very important commitment in the Programme for Government, which will help shape decision-making on how we support students over the years to come. Following a procurement process, the review was undertaken by Indecon Economic Consultants, under the guidance of a steering group which included student and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: On 21st January, the Government announced the lifting of a number of restrictions previously in place to curb the rate of infection and transmission of COVID19. On that basis, planning for the opening up of society, including the further education, higher education and research sector, has commenced. Arising from the announcement, institutions have been advised that there should be an...

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

Simon Harris: Growth in education and training provision in green skills and sustainability is ongoing across the Tertiary Education sector. A range of options are available from short courses targeted at awareness building, upskilling and reskilling programmes to full and part-time academic and vocational programmes. In the further education and training (FET) sector, short courses are targeted at...

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

Simon Harris: Tackling sexual violence and harassment in our tertiary education system is and will remain, a key policy focus for me and my Department. I really want to thank students and staff across the country who took the time to engage with this survey and share their experiences with us. A total of 11,417 responses were analysed (7,901 students and 3,516 staff) and inform the findings. The survey...

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

Simon Harris: My Department allocates mental health and well-being funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). As autonomous bodies, the internal disbursement of this funding, including the funding of their student services, the employment of counselling staff, and the procurement of counselling and mental health services are a matter...

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

Simon Harris: The new National Development Plan (NDP) provides for a step up in capital funding and a significantly more ambitious phase of capital investment in the FET sector. My Department, in conjunction with SOLAS, has undertaken significant planning work to build up the governance, strategic framework and delivery capability required to underpin and support this major programme of FET investment. ...

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

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 81 and 145 together. I’m very aware of the challenges that have been faced by this year’s Leaving Certificate students, and I am working to ensure that students have access to a wider range of options across the third level education system. This means not just higher education options but those in further education and apprenticeships also. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: Apprenticeship registrations in 2021 were the highest they have been since 2007, with 8,607 apprentices employed on 62 programmes. 6,955 registrations were in craft apprenticeship programmes, with over 60% of these in the Electrical, Plumbing and Carpentry and Joinery crafts. Craft apprenticeships are demand-led, with no restrictions on registrations in any single year. The current...

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

Simon Harris: Significant progress has been made regarding the Framework for Consent in Higher Education, since it was first launched in 2019. The Framework aims to ensure the creation of an institutional campus culture which is safe, respectful and supportive. In August 2020, I wrote to all the Presidents of the publicly funded higher education institutions, with a view to strengthening institutional...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 85 and 96 together. Delivery of the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025 is progressing, overseen by a Steering Group comprising representatives of SOLAS, the HEA, QQI and my Department. Despite the delays caused by the pandemic, 2021 was a successful year in terms of progressing towards our annual target of 10,000 annual apprenticeship registrations by...

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

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 86, 92 and 521 together. I am very conscious of the difficulties that students, like so many others in society, face as a result of the increased costs of living. For students and their families this includes not just costs such as accommodation and food but also education-specific costs such as the student contribution. I have monthly meetings with the USI...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: Apprenticeships are employer led demand-driven educational and training programmes, which 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 employer base in any area or sector. Apprenticeship registrations in 2021 were the highest they...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Technological Universities (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: The Ministerial order drafted to appoint both the official name and date of establishment of the Atlantic Technological University has been approved by both Houses of the Oireachtas in accordance with section 3 of the Technological Universities Act 2018 and I will shortly sign this order appointing 1 April 2022 as the date of establishment. An open public process seeking nominations for...

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

Simon Harris: The data sought by the Deputy with regard to further education is detailed in the table below: 2018 2019 2020 Number of Enrolments: 178 300 14 It refers to the period 2018 to 2020. SOLAS hold no data on the number of students from Northern Ireland enrolled in Irish Further Education Institutions for prior years....

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

Simon Harris: Tackling sexual violence and harassment in our tertiary education system is and will remain, a key policy focus for me and my Department. The Programme for Government 2020 made a number of commitments in relation to tackling sexual harassment in higher education. These include the implementation of the recommendations of the Framework for Consent in HEIs Report. It also includes expansion of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Technological Universities (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: The development and progression of technological universities (TUs) is an established policy objective of Government and my Department in the context of overarching national strategy on higher education landscape restructuring, and this is underscored in the commitment in the current Programme for Government. To date three TUs have been established, Technological University Dublin (TU...

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

Simon Harris: Higher Education Institutions are autonomous within the meaning of the Universities Act 1997, the Institutes of Technology Acts 1992 to 2006and the Technological Universties Act 2018. As such they are entitled to regulate their own administrative and academic affairs, including in relation to minimum entry requirements. I am aware that some higher education institution hold "second chance"...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Technological Universities (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 94 and 98 together. On 3 February I notified the chairs of the governing bodies of Institute of Technology Carlow and Waterford Institute of Technology that I had made by final decision to grant the applicant institutes an order establishing a technological university in the South East following a rigorous assessment process. The new higher education...