Results 9,001-9,020 of 47,419 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (28 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: Reckonable income under the Student Grant Scheme is household income from all sources including income from a student’s employment. When assessing reckonable income under the Student Grant scheme it is the previous year’s income that is assessed. Therefore applications to SUSI for the academic year 2022/2023 are assessed based on household income earned in 2021. The increase...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (28 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: The complex nature of the student grant scheme means that there is a risk that some students receive grant payments for which they are not eligible, including for reasons beyond the direct control of SUSI. This can also result in some instances in fee grants being paid to institutions on behalf of students. To mitigate the risk of over payments, SUSI implements procedural and system-based...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Research Funding (23 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: I can only respond to the Deputy’s question in terms of the student numbers supported by my Department through Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council, and on student numbers as reported by the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the latest Higher Education Research and Development Survey (HERD) survey. There are many other research funders in the national system,...

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (22 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: I have an amendment in this grouping, amendment No. 56. It provides that the approval of the board is needed by the CEO of the HEA to determine such other conditions of funding a funded body must comply with. I am not proposing to accept amendments Nos. 53, 54, 55, 57, 69 or 78. There has always been a balance between the role of the chief executive officer and that of the board. Through...

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (22 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 56: In page 38, line 23, after “determined” to insert “, with the approval of the Board,”.

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (22 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 58: In page 41, line 41, after “groups” to insert “and students who are competent to speak the Irish language”.

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (22 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 59: In page 42, line 3, after “groups” to insert “and students who are competent to speak the Irish language”.

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (22 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 36: In page 34, line 6, after “environmental” to insert “development and".

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (22 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 37: In page 34, to delete lines 9 and 10 and substitute the following: “(ix) social, economic and cultural requirements, including the requirements in higher education for the promotion and use of the Irish language of students who are enrolled in primary schools and post-primary schools which provide education through the medium of the Irish language, with...

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (22 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 38: In page 34, line 26, after “environmental” to insert “development and” .

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (22 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 39: In page 34, to delete lines 29 and 30 and substitute the following: “(m) social, economic and cultural requirements, including the requirements in higher education for the promotion and use of the Irish language of students who are enrolled in primary schools and post-primary schools which provide education through the medium of the Irish language, with...

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (22 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 43: In page 35, line 37, to delete “in consultation” and substitute “following engagement” . I will first speak to my amendments in this group, amendments Nos. 43 and 46, which I have tabled in an attempt to respond to amendments from Opposition colleagues; namely, amendments Nos. 44, 45, 47 and 48. This is the debate around...

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (22 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 46: In page 36, line 1, to delete “in consultation” and substitute “following engagement” .

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (22 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: I would like to explain why I do not propose to accept the amendments in this grouping. I am not proposing to make amendments to the Bill around the inclusion of a specific reference to the comply-or-explain principle or references to the provision of an adequate explanation for non-compliance. It is considered that the Higher Education Authority Bill 2022 at present reflects the...

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (22 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 30: In page 25, line 8, after “report” to insert “under section 23”. I think there are 19 amendments in the group. I do not expect they will detain us for very long because they are very much technical or typographical. The group includes cross-referencing, grammatical and formatting amendments. Amendment No. 30 amends section 21(9)...

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (22 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: We had a good discussion on this on Committee Stage and I further checked and cross-checked it. The reality is that I am accountable to this House on policy matters. What we are proposing here is a standard provision. Amendment No. 31 proposes to remove section 28, which is the accountability of the CEO to other Oireachtas committees. Section 28(9) states: "In the performance of his or...

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (22 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 32: In page 29, to delete lines 33 to 38, and in page 30, to delete lines 1 to 26 and substitute the following: “30.Notwithstanding the repeal of the Higher Education Authority Act 1971 by section 5(1), a person who was an officer or servant of An tÚdarás appointed under section 14(1)of that Act, immediately before the commencement of section 7 shall...

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (22 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: Amendment No. 63 is my amendment in this group. It is grouped because this amendment is one I indicated I would make following on from Deputy Ó Ríordáin's representation and advocacy on Committee Stage. My amendment addresses amendment No. 64, if I may put it like that, because it amends section 46 to include provision for the HEA to consult "members of the staff of...

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (22 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputies and, in particular, Deputy Conway-Walsh, for the acknowledgement that we moved on representation for the governing authorities. That was an issue that the Teachers Union of Ireland, TUI, and others, pursued. I engaged with the TUI at its national congress in Wexford a few weeks previously on that point. I am not minded to accept these three amendments. To be blunt,...

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (22 Jun 2022)

Simon Harris: The Deputy might do that, but that is for a different debate. I think we agree on this. I know we both believe education is a public good which means it should be funded through the public purse. We already have a levy on employers who pay into the national training fund. We have a contribution fee which I want to see reduced. My thoughts on that are well known and I am working...