Results 9,921-9,940 of 46,346 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (13 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 538 and 539 together. There are various income thresholds used depending on the type of grant, family size etc. While SUSI has statistics on those students who have applied for grant support and can estimate with some degree of certainty, what impact changes to the thresholds might have for those students on lower income levels, the accuracy of its estimates...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Further and Higher Education (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I fully agree that there has been far too much faffing around regarding antigen testing. As the Minister with responsibility for research and science, I would say that. We need to try everything possible to get people's lives back on track. Roughly speaking, and going on my memory, four institutions - Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, National University of Ireland Galway...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Student Accommodation (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for this important and timely question. The Government has committed to planning for a significant increase in on-site attendance in the tertiary education sector in the next academic year. Following intensive consultation with sectoral stakeholders, staff, student representatives and university management, I published A Safe Return: Plan for a Safe Return to on-site...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Student Accommodation (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I do not disagree with anything that the Deputy has said. I have asked institutions to continue doing what many of them already do, which is to set aside a certain amount of on-campus accommodation for first year students. They did that last year and it was helpful. We recently passed legislation which has done two things to help students with student accommodation. It was largely based...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Student Accommodation (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: The Deputy makes a fair point. It is up to each institution to consider reserving some accommodation for first year students. The rationale for that is that they will not know what college they are going to or what course they will be doing until well after second, third and fourth years know what they are returning to because of the delay with leaving certificate results. This year, we...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Further and Higher Education (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for this important question. The Government has worked intensively with representatives of staff, students and the management of institutions, as well as the Chief Medical Officer, to devise and publish a plan that shows how we will get our students safely back to college campuses, whether in further or higher education. We have said what people can expect at a minimum....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: Our higher education institutions have a duty of care to their students and staff and a responsibility to foster a campus culture that is clear in the condemnation of unwarranted, unwanted and unacceptable behaviours, which act as barriers to their safety and active participation in college life. In April 2019, the framework for consent in higher education institutions, called Safe,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I agree with the Deputy. What extra benefit do we expect to see from the action plans as opposed to just having a national framework? The big change is that, for the first time, the higher education institutions cannot just produce a plan. They also have to report against the delivery of the plan to the Higher Education Authority, just as they would report against budgetary matters and the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I will, indeed. I do not have the exact numbers but the report on the survey is being prepared and will be available to me in October. Many thousands of people have applied but I am not sure what the percentage uptake is. I will find that out for the Deputy. Our students unions and individual institutions have shown leadership on this, whether it is the active consent programme in NUI...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: Good try, though.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: EU Directives (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: In relation to the future benefits, I refer to two important pieces of work that we are undertaking this year. One is our new national research and innovation strategy for Ireland in which we will specifically map out the actions we intend to take. Being honest, one of the things we will have to do, if we are serious about research, is to ensure that we fund it at a level that is, at least,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: EU Directives (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: Deputy Lahart is entirely correct and this is an issue that has come across my desk as both the Minister and a Deputy. It is a cause of concern for many of our students. I have been engaging with the United States Embassy here and I have engaged with my colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and asked that he politically escalate the matter. I welcome the fact that President Biden has...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: EU Directives (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: Yes, absolutely. The Minister for Foreign Affairs or I will try to provide a statement on this shortly.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Staff (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I very much welcome an ongoing focus on this, as I know the Deputy will ensure there is. I will too, which is why I want the three work streams I have outlined, namely, the new staffing agreement with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform; the work we have asked the HEA to do in regard to precarious employment and its prevalence and impact on our higher education system; and,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cross-Border Co-operation (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for the question and recognise his obvious interest and commitment to this issue as a Border Deputy and a long-serving Member of the House. I strongly believe, as does the Government, that there is significant potential for enhanced North-South collaboration throughout the further and higher education and research system. This is an issue to which I have attached high...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cross-Border Co-operation (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: Absolutely. I very much believe that the PEACE PLUS initiative and the cross-Border skills programme will possibly be the first time we have had to do that at scale and with a degree of intensity that has perhaps been lacking in the past. I am very much looking forward to that and the programme will be finalised this year. It will give opportunity, not just in the higher education space...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cross-Border Co-operation (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: On the pathways point, the Deputy and I met a guy called Jack, whose story I tell everywhere I go. He got his first choice on the CAO and started his course, which, as is the case for many people, was not for him. He decided to leave that, returned to Cavan Institute and completed one year of pre-law there. He got a great grounding in law, decided it was for him and now he will start at...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: EU Directives (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: Openness and international collaboration are essential components of a globally relevant research system. Under the third country researchers directive, Ireland offers a fast-track work permit, or hosting agreement, for third country researchers from countries outside the European Economic Area, EEA. The third country researchers directive allows researchers to carry out research projects...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: Absolutely. Let me be really clear. While I am proud of the SUSI support scheme, which supports tens of thousands of students who may not otherwise be able to access higher education, that is not to say that I believe the current system is satisfactory, because I do not. A key commitment in the programme for Government was to carry out a comprehensive review of SUSI and how it operates....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Staff (8 Jul 2021)

Simon Harris: I hope that I have never dismissed the Deputy's questions. I have been engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The issue of the contractual arrangements of those working in the higher education sector is very important. I have raised it with the HEA and with those who fund research, such as the Irish Research Council and Science Foundation Ireland, because they also...