Results 81-100 of 7,021 for speaker:James Lawless

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: That is not quite the question the Deputy asked but I will answer. The question she asked concerned the cost of third level fees. My Department provides significant funding for tuition fee supports for students every year, including funding under the free fees initiative, which are sometimes referred to as tuition fees. Every undergraduate student in the State, bar certain exceptions such...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: Everything comes out of people's pockets because State resources are taxpayers' money and we all have to have respect for and be judicious in how we spend them. I am always very careful how I spend taxpayers' money which comes out of their hard-earned pay packets. It is important that we do this in a way that is socially just, progressive and targeted, and gets the most support to those who...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: Again, it is about choices. It is about managing with limited resources to provide the most support in a targeted and progressive way. I am confident that I have achieved that as best as I can this year with the resources available to me through a universal cut to the student contribution fee. I appreciate that it is more than students paid last year. I get that because they had a voucher...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Research and Development (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: I absolutely agree this is part of the response to the challenges posed by the changing trade and tariff situation. We are entering an age of deglobalisation. We also have many other factors to contend with. It is important we maintain that industrial base and that knowledge economy we fought so hard to develop over the past 30 or 40 years. The key to that is the knowledge economy and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education and Training Boards (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: The 16 ETBs are the backbone of further education and training, FET, context in local communities. They were established under the Education and Training Board Act 2013 and are funded and overseen by SOLAS, the further education and training authority, which is funded by my Department. The ETBs play a critical role in supporting inclusion, community involvement, outreach, developing...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education and Training Boards (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: I fully agree with Deputy Timmins. There are a couple of ways to look at this. The promotion of further education options and apprenticeships is really important. We have a job of work to do as a country and a society in persuading people of that and advocating for it. I make the argument every day that apprenticeships and further education in general should never be seen as second best...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education and Training Boards (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: There is a lot there. If I do not get to it all in 60 seconds, I will come back to Deputy Timmins. ETBs provide a very valuable role across a number of areas and a number of goals. I never regard an educational course as a tick box. The pursuit of knowledge is a public good. Whether someone is in the labour force, is unemployed or has disabilities, it is always a benefit to the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Oideachas Tríú Leibhéal (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: I do not disagree at all. The Deputy mentioned University of Galway and a seminar that was there over the summer. It has some work under way with the Higher Education Authority and my Department on demand for Irish courses. The HEA is engaged in using the university as the lead on it to research the demand for Irish-language courses in third level institutions to inform the planning,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Research and Development (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 25 together Gabhaim buíochas le Teachta Daly. Deputy Timmins is on this question as well. The question refers to the collaboration between innovation hubs, industry and third level institutions. My Department has, I believe a strong economic focus; it should have and does have. I am committed to making sure this is an economic Ministry that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Research and Development (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: Yes.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Research and Development (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: I thank both Deputies. I will respond to Deputy Daly on the urology project. It is a project I am very keen to explore further and there are already a number of projects like that we are developing in the regions. The New Frontiers programme in Castlebar and Galway has a start-up ecosystem working with ATU, and perhaps the urology project could be done along the same lines. On the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Oideachas Tríú Leibhéal (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: Freagróidh mé an cheist i nGaeilge, ach ós rud é nach bhfuil mo chuid Gaeilge chomh láidir is atá Gaeilge an Teachta Connolly, freagróidh mé aon cheist bhreise i mBéarla. Is prionsabal bunúsach inár gcóras oideachais é go bhfuil leibhéal ard neamhspleáchais ag institiúidí ardoideachais. Ní...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Oideachas Tríú Leibhéal (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: Yes. The Welsh example is interesting. I attended the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly on Monday outside London in Surrey, and engaged with members of the Welsh Parliament and we discussed apprenticeships as Gaeilge and apprenticeships in the Welsh language. It was one of the topics we engaged on. The Deputy is right that the Welsh have made a success of it. Ach tuigim an fhadhb sa...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Costs (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: I thank the Deputy. I welcome the opportunity to make a few remarks on this issue. I hope it is well understood, but I will restate it, that the starting point for this year's budget was that no provision was made for a continual reduction of student fees. There was a once-off measure in last year's budget, which did not carry over to the following year. It was once-off funding that was...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Costs (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: To summarise, grants have increased, thresholds have increased, student supports have increased and student fees have come permanently down. That is progress. This is the first budget of a term. I repeat that low-income families and households at risk of poverty should not be paying fees at all. While I absolutely understand that fees are an issue for the squeezed middle, those households...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Costs (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: For clarity, I am absolutely not talking about bringing in extra fees. Fees will only go down on my watch. To be crystal clear, fees will go in one direction, and that is down, as long as I am in office. However, it is important to discuss the academic work and the research that has been done. That is what the Deputy asked about in her question. She asked what assessments had been...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Technological Universities (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: I absolutely support the project and have made that very clear to the executive and all stakeholders. In terms of funding from my Department, we have a confirmed budget to purchase our part of the site. There is a masterplan for other things as well but certainly the funding is there for the educational piece. The business case is progressing. However, the decision on when to serve the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Technological Universities (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: The Deputy has good offices in Wexford town himself. He has agency, a relationship with the county manager and so forth. I do not know how usual it would be for a Minister to engage with a local authority to ask it to accelerate a CPO process. It is probably better that I continue to work on the educational piece and local representatives like Deputy Lawlor can engage with the council. I...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: The strategy to which the Deputy refers is the National Student Accommodation Strategy 2017-2024, which was the first national strategy of its kind. The aims of that strategy were to meet rising student housing demand, ease pressure on the private rental market and, ultimately, increase the supply of purpose-built student accommodation, PBSA. Two key goals were set out, the first of which...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (16 Oct 2025)

James Lawless: On the short-term activation programme, the Minister, Deputy Chambers, did indeed reference it, as have I several times. We have 116 new beds delivered in Maynooth, which are now open at Teach Ui Buachalla or Buckley House. I approved funding of €67 million just last month and turned the sod at UCD for its new accommodation project, which will deliver 493 new beds. As I already...