Results 8,941-8,960 of 45,510 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (9 Sep 2021)

Simon Harris: The Safe Return Plan, which was agreed following extensive discussions between sectoral representatives, institutions, public health, students, staff and other stakeholders and was published on the 15th June, is predicated on the sector’s full commitment to a significant increase in on-site teaching and learning activities and research.  The Plan provided a comprehensive...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Flexible Work Practices (9 Sep 2021)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 849 and 850 together. Staff of my department have been working in line with Government COVID-19 guidance, which had provided for home working to continue where possible. This was also the position adopted by aegis bodies of my department. Following the Taoiseach's announcement on the 1st of September, my department is now in the process of planning for a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (9 Sep 2021)

Simon Harris: In order to be eligible for a grant under the Student Grant Scheme 2021, a student must be progressing i.e. she must be moving from year to year within a course, having successfully completed the previous year or be transferring from one course to another where the award for the subsequent course is of a higher level than the previous course (Article 17 (3) (b) of the Student Grant Scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (9 Sep 2021)

Simon Harris: The principal support provided by my Department in financial terms is the Student Grant Scheme. Under the terms of the Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students attending an approved course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. The scheme is demand led and as...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (9 Sep 2021)

Simon Harris: The information requested by the Deputy is not held by my Department. My Department's main source of statistics on students is the Student Records System administered by the HEA, which does not record whether students are residing in student accommodation.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (9 Sep 2021)

Simon Harris: The Deputy will be aware that the Programme for Government contains commitments to, among other things, review SUSI eligibility criteria, adjacency rates and postgraduate grant supports. On foot of these commitments I gave approval to commence a review of the Student Grant Scheme. My Department is overseeing the implementation of the review. A Steering Committee has been...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (9 Sep 2021)

Simon Harris: The SUSI payment schedule is updated each year in line with college start dates, as to receive payment, a student must be registered with their college and the college must confirm their registration with SUSI.  SUSI consulted with colleges and found that for academic year 2021-22, many colleges will open from mid to end September. Following careful consideration, the first scheduled...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (9 Sep 2021)

Simon Harris: The Deputy will be aware that the Programme for Government contains commitments to, among other things, review SUSI eligibility criteria, adjacency rates and postgraduate grant supports. On foot of these commitments I gave approval to commence a review of the Student Grant Scheme. My Department is overseeing the implementation of the review. A Steering Committee has been...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Government Communications (9 Sep 2021)

Simon Harris: The Department uses industry standard mobile device management software to manage corporate mobile phones. There are no records indicating that my Ministerial mobile phone nor the Ministerial mobile phone of my colleague Niall Collins TD was hacked.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Government Communications (9 Sep 2021)

Simon Harris: I can confirm that I do not use a personal phone for government business. I am not aware of any hacking of the devices I use.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Freedom of Information (9 Sep 2021)

Simon Harris: The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science was established on 02 August 2020. The following table outlines FOI requests received and processed since establishment: Year Total Responded 2021 ytd 43 2020 (DFHERIS est 08/2020) 27 My Department reports annually to both the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Commissions of Investigation (9 Sep 2021)

Simon Harris: Under the Commissions of Investigations Act 2004, in the preceding decade, there have been no commissions of investigation that come under the remit of my Department. 

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (9 Sep 2021)

Simon Harris: The Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) survey is undertaken every two years among Ireland’s publicly-funded higher education institutions. The last iteration, covering the 2018-2019 academic year, was conducted by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Following a Government decision to transfer certain research and innovation functions, the HERD...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (9 Sep 2021)

Simon Harris: Since the publication of the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030, the strategic policy context for the System Performance Framework has continued to evolve, including recent significant changes in the higher education landscape. The publication of the Statement of Strategy by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science earlier this year sets out...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (9 Sep 2021)

Simon Harris: The development of a new national strategy for research and innovation (R&I) is a key commitment in the Government’s Economic Recovery Plan 2021, which sets out the “dual ambition of placing research, development and innovation at the heart of addressing Ireland’s economic and societal challenges, and building capacity and capability across the research and innovation...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Ministerial Appointments (9 Sep 2021)

Simon Harris: I can confirm that the person referenced has not held any formal or informal roles in my Department or in its agencies during the lifetime of this Government. 

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Government Communications (9 Sep 2021)

Simon Harris: Neither I nor my advisors or senior management team use the services referenced by the Deputy. The use of these services is not authorised for official business on devices provided by my department.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (27 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: It is not possible to definitively calculate the estimates costs as requested in light of the various adjustments that have been made to the student grant system since 2008, and in particularly the demographic changes that have taken place. To put it in context, in 2008/09 there were 57,261 students who benefitted from grant support at a cost of €264m, whereas in 2020/21 there...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (27 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: In relation to tuition fees it is important to consider that the State currently provides very substantial financial support to undergraduate students in higher education towards the cost of their studies. This support has played a very significant role in facilitating access to and growth in higher education. What was previously the preserve of a relatively small proportion of the school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (27 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I wish to reiterate that my key priority and that of my Department in terms of advancing higher education integration in the south-east region is the progression by the publicly funded Institutes of Technology that make up the TUSEI consortium of their proposals for a technological university to serve all parts of the region. In this context I appointed an expert advisory panel to assess the...