Results 8,821-8,840 of 46,267 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Admissions (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 594 and 595 together. The information requested by the Deputy on pharmacy entrants and graduates is in the table below. Year 1st Year Enrolments Graduates 2010/2011 173 160 2011/2012 191 161 2012/2013 186 140 2013/2014 ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 597 and 598 together. The Pharmacy Act 2007 conferred responsibility on the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI), the pharmacy regulator, with respect to pharmacy education and training. The PSI is an independent statutory body and is responsible for defining and ensuring the standards of education and training for pharmacists qualifying in Ireland....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Tests (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 599 and 600 together. In 2020 and 2021 the Government provided additional funding to mitigate against the direct impacts of Covid-19 and support the return of students to further and higher education for the academic years 20/21 and 2021/22. For Technological University Dublin (TUD) additional funding from within these financial supports was...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (22 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 employers in any area or sector.  The Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021 – 2025...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Staff (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: Following the establishment of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in August 2020, 122 officials transferred on foot of the transfer of further and higher education functions from the Department of Education. There are currently 200 officials in total assigned to this Department.  This figure includes staff transferred from other Departments...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Contracts (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013, craft and general construction workers, persons undertaking on-site security work and persons or classes of persons as may be prescribed by the relevant Minister are required to hold a safety awareness registration card (Safe Pass card).  SafePass training and assessment delivery has mirrored...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: The data requested by the Deputy is not yet available for the 2021/22 academic year. My Department's key source of enrolment statistics is the HEA's Student Records System (SRS). The census date for the collection of the Student Record System data is the 1st of March of the academic year, and therefore the enrolment statistics for 21/22 have not not been collected. The data for the 2021/22...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: For the years in question, the Fottrell Report provided the basis on which the level of provision in medical schools is determined. It specifies that an intake of between 700 and 740 EU students per annum is required to move towards national self-sufficiency. This target marked a more than doubling of the number of EU students who were accepted in to medical schools at the time the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I recognise the critical importance of having a strong pipeline of healthcare graduates, and my Department is strongly committed to supporting the health of the population through the provision of graduates with the key competencies and skills to be effective in the health workforce, and support a range of clinical teams in our health services.  The Programme for Government commits...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Advertising (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 608 and 615 together. The Department has not received any awards from this publication.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: The main support available to students is the statutory based Student Grant Scheme where students are studying for the first time or are progressing to study at a higher level. 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. With regard to the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: Universities and institutes of technology are academically independent and have the right to determine the procedures and criteria for the selection and admission of students. The CAO process applications for undergraduate, and some postgraduate, courses on behalf of the higher education institutions. Neither I nor my Department have a role in the operation of the CAO, and it is not...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: In 2019, my Department launched a call under the Higher Education Strategic Infrastructure Fund (HESIF) for key strategic projects to be co-funded by the Exchequer.  At that time University College Cork (UCC) prioritised an application for a new building, the Cork University Business School (CUBS) to be funded.  The CUBS application was successful and approved in principle for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: There is no quota placed on dental courses by my Department, and therefore the places offered are a matter for the higher education institutions, in line with their autonomy. However due to the high level of practical work involved there are material constraints on the number of students that can be accepted onto dentistry courses. My Department is strongly committed to supporting the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 613 and 614 together. Ireland places central importance on skills policy and human capital development. Ireland has an advanced system of skills provision, across Further and Higher Education, lifelong learning and human capital development, which is agile and responsive to changes in the world of work, in order to address evolving skills needs. As outlined in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: The income limit for the special rate of grant is aligned to the maximum point of the weekly State Contributory Pension plus the maximum Qualified Adult Allowance for a person over 66 years. The student grant means test for 2022 is based on gross reckonable income for the 2021 tax year. As the Department of Social Protection state pension payment was not increased in Budget 2021, the special...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Climate Action Plan (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: A Capital Planning and Climate Change unit was established within my Department in September 2021. The Unit is responsible for coordination of the overall Departmental approach to Climate Action Plan implementation including supporting inter-Departmental and whole of Government work in this area.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: Under the Further Education and Training Act (2013), SOLAS has statutory responsibility for planning, funding, and co-ordinating Further Education and Training (FET) in Ireland. While The Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021 -2025 plan sets out actions to provide for craft apprentices to express preferences on the location of their off-the-job training. The offer of an off-the-job training...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Communications (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: I do have the application referred to by the Deputy. However, I do not use it for official Government business.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Research Funding (22 Feb 2022)

Simon Harris: The SFI Research Centres are funded on a multi annual basis.  During 2021 there were 16 SFI Research Centres in receipt of funding through the SFI Research Centres Programme.  These are set out below along with the projected allocations for those Research Centres in 2022. SFI Research Centres do receive funding through other SFI programmes.  The attached table  reflects...