Results 10,501-10,520 of 45,539 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Institutions (21 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: As the Deputy may be aware a Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) Working Group was established in March 2017.  The key objective of this group was to develop a plan to develop a sustainable future for the Mayo Campus arising from concerns about the financial viability of the campus.  The Report contained 33 recommendations for implementation. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (21 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 200 to 202, inclusive, together. As announced in July, the government has provided additional and re-prioritised funding in the amount of €168m to enable providers to facilitate the safe return of students to further and higher education in 2020, in the context of public health advice. This funding includes provision for PPE and equipment, online...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Institutions (21 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: The CAO is a company established by the Irish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to process applications for undergraduate, and some postgraduate, courses on their behalf.  It is governed by a board of directors drawn from across the higher education sector, and decisions on the operation of the CAO are made by this board. Neither I nor my Department have a role in the operation...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (21 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: Neither I nor my Department have any role in relation to the provision of financial supports for nurses and other medical students undertaking clinical placements. These are matters for the Department of Health and the HSE as appropriate. In this context I refer the Deputy to PQ Number 30359/20 which I answered on 13 October.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Institutions (21 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: I wish to advise the Deputy that TU Dublin does not have a borrowing framework and has no debt. The Universities Act, 1997 contains a provision for universities to borrow within a framework agreed with the Higher Education Authority. This framework, which was agreed with the now Department of Further and Higher Education, Research Innovation and Science and the now Department of Public...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Institutions (21 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: As part of a package of COVID-19 supports for the higher and further education sectors, my Department has allocated €15 million to higher and further education providers for a once-off COVID-19 grant to support disadvantaged students in accessing ICT devices.   This initiative addresses concerns regarding the digital divide in the context of the shift to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (21 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: I am very conscious of the impact the pandemic has had on our students. To ensure the safety of our students and staff in further and higher education under the remit of my Department, the majority of college will be online for this semester.  In recognition of the challenges facing full time third level students the Government has approved once off funding of €50m to provide...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (21 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 209 and 210 together. I am conscious of the challenges faced by students regarding student accommodation this year due to both financial pressures, and the blended learning format of the 2020/21 academic year. Responding to these issues is a significant matter of concern for myself and for my colleague the Minister for Housing, Local Government and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Science Foundation Ireland (21 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: I have had discussions with Science Foundation Ireland in relation to their ambitions to develop their international footprint. In this regard I understand that the Ireland House approach to developing an overseas agency presence may be an appropriate model to utilise and I am interested to see these plans progress as part of our ongoing engagement with SFI.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (21 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: It has been a significant priority for me, in the context of the shift to online teaching and learning that has arisen from the public health restrictions, to provide support to students to facilitate connectivity and to examine options designed to seek to minimise the extent to which connectivity challenges act as a barrier to full participation in higher and further education. In this...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Support Schemes (20 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: I am the Minister with responsibility for higher education and believe that providing everybody with an opportunity to access higher education is a good thing. I believe there is a societal and economic good and that is where we should be trying to get to. Obviously, I have to fit my Department's work into a broader piece of work that needs to be done and was being done previously by the...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Support Schemes (20 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: The Deputy makes a fair point. It is one of the reasons I very much welcome the fact that, on the advice of public health, we can keep access to college libraries and the likes open, albeit on a scheduled and organised basis, because there may be some students in this country who decide they would rather remain in accommodation they have organised near the campus and continue to access those...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Support Schemes (20 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: I will check that issue and revert to the Deputy on it. Among the potential sites for the proposed pilots to which I referred a moment ago are broadband connection points, public libraries, museums, municipal buildings, public transport, airports, some of which are already being availed of in that regard, and public areas. In other words, we should try to light up anywhere that is within...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Support Schemes (20 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: Their institution is the first port of call, probably the access office. I am pleased that the public health advice allows us not to return to the situation that pertained for higher education in March. Education will overwhelmingly be done online, and there is no disputing that, but we have a flexibility in terms of vulnerable learners and people who may have issues accessing or learning...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Technological Universities (20 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and for the conversations we have had on it recently. I know the Deputy sees the benefit of the technological universities, as do I, not just from an educational point of view, which is massive, but also from the points of view of regional development and job creation. I already know there are companies in the Deputy's region that cite the...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (20 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: I agree with the Deputy that, in particular when it comes to things like mental health and well-being, we need to be really aware of these things. We need to support them and invest more in them and that is what we are doing. I also hope she will agree with me that we need to learn from the mistakes other jurisdictions have made where large numbers of students returned to campus and we saw...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Support Schemes (20 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Barry for this question. This is an area I have taken an interest in since taking up office. The fee payable by a student varies depending on a variety of factors, including the type of course and the student's access route, including previous education. The Department of Justice and Equality adjudicates on a person's entitlements to remain in the State and on the stamp that...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Support Schemes (20 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: I will comment on it very clearly. I do not think it is fair or right and I want to fix it. My views on this are clear. I know one of the students the Deputy speaks of. It is the well-known case of Eric, the boy from Bray who some Department official thought it was a good idea to send him back of China. Eric had never been to China. He is as Irish as the rest of us but he was caught in...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (20 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: I am conscious of the challenges faced by students regarding student accommodation this year due to both financial pressures and the blended learning format of the 2020-21 academic year, which Deputy Conway-Walsh rightly mentioned. Responding to these issues is a significant matter of concern for me and my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, and we are...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (20 Oct 2020)

Simon Harris: I want university-owned accommodation fees to be refunded where students cannot use the accommodation, or at least fair solutions to be found. I have said that in crystal clear language to representative bodies on a number of occasions. I have also said it in the presence of Union of Students in Ireland, USI, representatives. It is my position and that of the Government and I expect it to...