Results 10,701-10,720 of 45,510 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (24 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: The outcomes of the first Rapid Response Call to COVID-19 that ran under the national coordinated research and innovation response to the pandemic were announced in April 2020. The Irish Research Council and the Health Research Board jointly funded a strand of this call, which focused on the development of medical countermeasures, health service readiness, and social and political...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Crime Data (24 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: Statistics of this nature have not historically been collected on a systematic basis from the higher education sector. However, in 2019 information was collected which highlighted the following data in respect of 19 institutions, where information was available. The specific actions adjudged necessary and taken as a result of any such incident are matters for each higher education...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (24 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 207 and 208 together. Last week in the light of the deterioration in the COVID-19 situation in Dublin, following NPHET’s request, Government asked that higher and further education institutions consider enhanced protective measures. In the light of this request, additional protections are being introduced which will see a more gradual reopening of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Bullying in Educational Institutions (24 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: Statistics of this nature are not currently available to my Department. To address this data deficit going forward on 4 August 2020 I wrote to the presidents of all publicly funded higher education institutions (HEIs) on the implementation of the Framework for Consent in HEIs; Safe, Respectful, Supportive and Positive: Ending Sexual Harassment in Irish Higher Education Institutions....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (23 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: I am conscious of the challenges faced by students regarding student accommodation this year due to financial pressures and the blended learning format of the 2020/21 academic year. Throughout the last number of months my Department has been engaging with representatives from the higher education sector to address the challenges faced by students in this difficult time. My Department, in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (23 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: Risk mitigation plans across the FET and HE sectors are informed by the size and layout of buildings, the numbers of learners enrolled, the types of awards and educational opportunities available, the transport links available and the resources available (including human resources). Each FET centre and HE institution has carried out a risk assessment on their college/centre and put protective...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (23 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: To support the return to college in 2020, on July 22nd my Department published its three-pillar series of guides for returning to on-site learning in 2021, which consisted of a high-level roadmap, a COVID-19 adaptation framework, and practical guidance for returning to on-site activity. This unique three-pillar approach was developed in close consultation with agencies, stakeholders, provider...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Springboard Programme (23 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: Springboard+ which incorporates the ICT skills conversion programme, is a specific initiative which provides free and 90% subsidised part-time and full-time courses aimed at addressing the current skills needs of employers and supporting jobseekers to return to employment. Employed or self-employed people are eligible to undertake NFQ Level 6 courses free of charge, and NFQ level 7-9 courses...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme (23 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: Under the terms of the student grant scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. With regard to the residency criterion, in order to be eligible for a grant, a "student", as defined in Section 14 of the Student Support Act 2011, must demonstrate that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Admissions (22 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 599 and 611 together. The CAO system is a system that works on the assumption that grades obtained in the Leaving Certificate by candidates determine their points. It is on this basis that the CAO system allocates places to applicants including those from different years. To ensure impartiality, the automatic CAO points systems have been created in a way that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme (22 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: It is not possible to definitively calculate the cost of the various adjustments that have been made to the student support system since 2008, particularly in light of 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 2019/20 there were over 71,000 students in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (22 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: The CAO is a company established by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to process applications for undergraduate, and some postgraduate, courses on their behalf. Decisions on admissions are made by the HEIs who then instruct the CAO to make offers to successful candidates. Therefore application and offer data is held by the CAO, not by my Department. According to data released by the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Support Schemes (22 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: The HEAR and DARE schemes are operated by the Irish Universities Association (IUA) who set the policy criteria for the schemes. Admissions under the schemes are regulated by the higher education institutions themselves. Each institution determines its own admissions policy in relation to the schemes, the number of places they reserve and the allocation of those places. Applications to both...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (22 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the centralised student grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) to determine. For the 2020/21 academic year, student grant applications will be assessed based on gross income from all sources for the period 1st January 2019 to 31st December 2019. However, if a student or...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (22 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: The student grant scheme, administered by SUSI, provides maintenance grants to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. Student maintenance grants are payable at either the adjacent or non-adjacent rate. The distance to be measured is the shortest non-tolled most direct route from the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (22 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: The student grant scheme, administered by SUSI, provides maintenance grants to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. Student maintenance grants are payable at either the adjacent or non-adjacent rate. The distance to be measured is the shortest non-tolled most direct route from the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (22 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are autonomous with regard to management of their academic affairs including admissions procedures. The CAO process applications for undergraduate courses on behalf of the HEIs Decisions on admissions, including deadlines for submission of applications or acceptance of offers, are made by the HEIs who then instruct the CAO to make offers to successful...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (22 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 607 and 616 together. The HPAT is independently administered by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) on behalf of the universities’ medical schools and the RCSI. The selection criteria and process for admission to medical schools is a matter for those institutions in line with their statutory autonomy in relation to academic...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (22 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: At the time of closing the appeal application process on Wednesday 16September, some 12,300 students had appealed almost 33,700 grades. Every effort will be made to process appeals as quickly as possible but I am informed it is not possible at this time for the Department of Education to commit to a date for the issue of the appeal results. Students will be notified of this date as soon as...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (22 Sep 2020)

Simon Harris: English language education (ELE) in Ireland is a broad and diverse sector with the vast majority of activity undertaken by private sector providers. I am aware of the challenges that are being encountered in the ELE sector and the substantial impact that the Covid-19 outbreak has had on its students, teachers and providers. As part of the response to the pandemic, my Department established a...