Results 9,701-9,720 of 46,267 for speaker:Simon Harris

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...

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

Simon Harris: The additional 50,000 education and training places referred to in Pathways to Work form part of the Government’s response to the labour market and skills effects of the pandemic. A range of measures were introduced as a response to upskilling and reskilling needs of individuals and businesses through the July Jobs Stimulus and Budget 2021. These measures are providing 35,000 education...

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

Simon Harris: The Human Capital Initiative (HCI) was announced as part of Budget 2019. The HCI provides additional capacity across the Higher Education Sector to meet priority skill needs for enterprise, representing an additional investment of €300m (€60m per annum from 2020 to 2024) from the surplus in the NTF in line with recommendations contained in the independent review of the NTF on...

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

Simon Harris: The Deputy will be aware that the Programme for Government contains a commitment to review SUSI eligibility criteria, adjacency rates and postgraduate grant supports. To take forward this commitment I established a review of the Student Grant Scheme. This review is currently underway. It is being conducted by Indecon Economic Consultants under the direction of a steering group chaired by my...