Results 9,161-9,180 of 46,267 for speaker:Simon Harris

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: Yes, I do. I am really encouraged by what I saw yesterday and what I saw of the research ecosystem in Maynooth and the real focus there on doing more in research and collaborating. I am encouraged by the meeting I had with the new president of NUI Maynooth yesterday, her management team and the discussions we had on collaboration with further education. I really want to see the education...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: I will give somewhat of a similar answer but I will try to add a few bits of new information. We have an advanced system of skills provision in our country, whether you look at the success of our secondary school system and the Department of Education, our further education and training facilities or our higher education. We also know, however, that we cannot be complacent. No one owes...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: The short answer is "Yes". We have a good pipeline of graduates and apprentices. One of the decisions taken by Government and by my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in recent weeks and months - providing certainty of funding for construction and public investment in construction for the years ahead - can provide an assurance to people looking to work in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: I will indeed engage with the Minster for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, on this issue. I am pleased to say that, when it comes to the SUSI review, we specifically included the Department of Social Protection in the steering group. What we all want is to ensure no poverty traps exist regarding any State support. I am cognisant that the working family payment is not a barrier to any...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Further and Higher Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for the important question on SUSI grant schemes and their real value. I suggest that I provide him with some of the information in tabular form to assist with the discussion this evening. As part of budget 2022, a budget of the three-party Government, we announced the first major changes to the student grant scheme rates and eligibility. These include an increase to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Further and Higher Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: I am sorry. They were reduced and were then static.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Further and Higher Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: They were, indeed. Yes.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Further and Higher Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: We are not even there yet.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Further and Higher Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: I do not need a history lesson, and neither does the Deputy, in respect of some of the very difficult economic decisions this country made after the troika period and, indeed, during that period, when many difficult public expenditure decisions had to be made. We are not going to debate on the floor of the Dáil why they were made, I am quite sure. When our two parties came together...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Further and Higher Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: Which the Deputy voted for.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Further and Higher Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: It is your package.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Further and Higher Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: The Minister of State in my Department, Deputy Niall Collins, the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, and I — and, as I believed, every member of the Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Green parliamentary parties — are determined to increase the student supports. I have here some of the decisions the Deputy made on student supports during his...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Further and Higher Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: We are all aware of the economic crisis, Deputy

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Further and Higher Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: My apologies. I am very much aware of the situation we saw during Deputy Ó Cuív's time in the last Fianna Fáil Government, and indeed during the time of the Fine Gael-Labour Government, when very difficult decisions on registration fees and student grants had to be made. I will provide to the Deputy, as an appendix to this answer, information in tabular form for each of those...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Moynihan for his question and for his regular engagement with myself and my office on the issue of student supports and the need to do better, reform and overhaul the student grant system. I am happy to give him an update on the review of the SUSI student grant scheme. This was a very important commitment in the programme for Government, which will help shape decision-making...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy. I am pleased to hear that the changes we made in the last budget will have such a positive impact for many of his constituents. We would like to do more and build on that in future budgets as well. I am at a slight disadvantage because I have not yet received the outcome of the review. However, the terms of reference are quite instructive in terms of what we would like...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: I do not disagree with anything the Deputy said. The profile of a learner or student is going to change in Ireland. Not every student will be 18 straight out of school and packing the bags to go to college for four years. More and more we are going to see people in their 40s, 50s and 60s with full-time jobs, mortgages and some dependants, needing to access to education. There is a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for the question and the important issue he is raising. It is important to say at the outset that the SUSI scheme does take account of the circumstances of people in receipt of the working family payment. First, as the Deputy knows, the working family payment is treated as an income disregard. This means that it is not included in the reckonable income for the student...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: I very much take the seriousness of the point the Deputy is making. Regardless of whether a large or small number are affected, the point is important and valid. I approached the answer to the question in that spirit. We are slightly at risk of talking at cross purposes. Regarding the relevance of SUSI, I want to be clear again that the working family payment is an income disregard so...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy, and I assure him that students in the technological universities, including in the new Atlantic technological university serving Mayo, Galway, Sligo, Donegal and the north-west region, will indeed be eligible to apply. Regarding the further education sector, I am glad the Deputy raised this matter, because we have made two significant changes to support students in...