Results 8,721-8,740 of 45,495 for speaker:Simon Harris

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for her kind wishes, which I sincerely appreciate. I thank her also for raising this extremely important issue. At the outset, while it is a statement of the obvious, it is important to say that a lot of the issues affecting students are part of the broader housing challenges that we face as a society, and these are challenges the Government is committed to resolving....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I do not wish the Deputy in any way to think my language is not strong enough in regard to Mr. Keegan’s comments because I find them absolutely reprehensible, I really do. It shows a real failure to understand the serious challenge that people are facing. It also shows complete and utter disrespect to students. The Deputy and I might not agree on everything but what we do agree on...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I have already outlined to the Deputy some of the immediate measures we are taking to try to help in the here and now around financial assistance, around the student assistance fund and around the circular. That circular, which the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien issued, is very strong and makes very clear that student accommodation during the college year should be just for student...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Technological Universities (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: The establishment of the new Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest is a hugely significant development. A core part of its mission will be to supply the graduate skills to meet the needs of employers in its region, and to support sustainable development. Of course as an autonomous institution, it’s a matter for their Academic Council and their Governing Body...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I want to thank the Deputy for raising the matter, but it is not an issue which has previously been brought to my attention. It’s certainly very positive to see the new Civil Defence headquarters in Ennis open. Taken alongside the establishment of the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest and the fact that Ennis is now a university town, these will be important...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Technological Universities (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: Should the application for Technological University designation be approved, the IT Carlow campus would become a campus of the Technological University of the South East. Under the Higher Education Public Private Partnership - PPP - Programme, it is planned to deliver a Science and Health Building of more than 6,000 square metres on this campus. The building will include undergraduate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Technological Universities (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: It’s important to say at the outset that it is very much a matter for the governing bodies of autonomous Institutes of Technology to choose their own strategic direction in the higher education landscape. There have been very significant steps made by Dundalk Institute of Technology in this regard, which I welcome. DkIT has published its vision to become a dynamic,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: The student grant is an absolutely critical support for the students who receive it. That is why, following taking up my Ministerial appointment, I initiated a Review of the Student Grant Scheme to see where improvements would be most effective. The importance of this Review has been underlined by the rise in the costs of living across society. This has impacted students who have been...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: Maintaining and developing a strong supply of STEM graduates is critical to Ireland’s growth as a world-class centre of innovation and research. Ensuring that we have good gender balance in STEM is a key part of meeting this supply. It is also a worthwhile policy goal in its own right, given all that we know about the importance of diversity in STEM, as well as our desire to ensure...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Science Foundation Ireland (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I assume the Deputy is referring to the research infrastructure calls that Science Foundation Ireland make from time to time. I should explain at the outset that the management of such calls is a matter for SFI, based on their own processes and having regard to appropriate advice and expertise, including from international experts. The Infrastructure Call is a very important programme....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Research and Development (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: It is imperative that our research and innovation system must be open and have strong international collaboration links. Membership of leading international research organisations is an important mechanism for facilitating this engagement. As part of the Innovation 2020 strategy, the Government committed to initiating discussions with several international research organisations. Four...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I’m acutely aware of the challenges facing students in securing accommodation this year, and my Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage are working closely together to address these issues. The shortage of accommodation for students is happening in the context of the wider housing crisis. In September the Government published Housing For All, a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I was delighted to see Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest open its doors at the start of the month to become the third technological university in the State. The communities in areas where there are campuses of the new TU will benefit from a range of benefits over time. The universities will attract more students, they will help communities create and retain skills and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Technological Universities (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I provided the Deputy with details of the funding of the Connacht Ulster Alliance TU development consortium since 2013 as recently as March. On 8 September the HEA announced funding of€25.7million under the Technological University Transformation Fund (TUFT) to relevant higher education institutions in support of progression towards TU status or for the post-establishment development...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: My Department places a fundamental focus on working to deliver suitably qualified and adequate numbers of graduates to meet the demands of the workplace. A core focus of the Department's Statement of Strategy is to enable individuals to access the skills required to progress in a way that meets the needs of our economy as it evolves and recovers. To meet the different existing and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: Following Government approval, I published A Safe Return: Plan for a safe return to on-site Further and Higher Education and Research in 2021/22 on June 15th. The Safe Return Plan can be accessed at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/bcd91-a-safe-return-to-on-site-fur ther-and-higher-education-and-research/. The Plan, predicated on the sector’s full commitment to a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the centralised student grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) to determine. For the current academic year (2021/22) the application process is still open. However, I can confirm that as of 10th October 2021, SUSI had received 94,800 applications and assessed 85,700 with...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: As the Deputy is aware, I recently visited the Mary Immaculate College (MIC) Thurles campus to see first-hand the campus, and meet the staff and students, who benefit from a range of quality facilities on site. I understand from my visit that there are a variety of projects envisaged for the Thurles campus. All such works should form part of the wider MIC capital planning process, which the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Research and Development (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: On 30 April 2021 the TUSEI consortium, comprising IT Carlow and Waterford IT, submitted an application under Section 29 of the Technological Universities Act 2018 seeking an order to dissolve both Institutes of Technology and to establish in their place of a technological university to serve the South East region. I duly appointed an expert advisory panel to assess the application. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (13 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I was delighted to see Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest open its doors at the start of the month to become the third technological university in the State. The communities in areas where there are campuses of the new TU will benefit from a range of benefits over time. The universities will attract more students, they will help communities create and retain skills and...