Results 10,721-10,740 of 47,419 for speaker:Simon Harris

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

Simon Harris: A vibrant enterprise sector is a prerequisite for a strong, advanced economy, and a strong economy in turn provides the foundation for a progressive, sustainable and inclusive society. The enterprise sector provides quality employment which is important for our standard of living and inclusivity. The enterprise sector is hugely important in driving innovation in this country. An estimated 75%...

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

Simon Harris: The challenge to deliver adequate numbers of suitably qualified academic and technical graduates to meet the demands of the country is a fundamental focus for the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. The higher and further education sectors responded in an agile fashion to the challenges of Covid-19 and continuity for the most part was maintained...

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

Simon Harris: The further and higher education sectors have a number of key strategies in place at all levels to ensure that the educational opportunities being offered specifically target the areas of key demand in the economy. These include policies designed to ensure a pipeline of suitably qualified higher education graduates and apprentices, and initiatives to equip young people and the working...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: Work on the development of the next National Access Plan (NAP) 2022 - 2026 is currently underway. The consultation process, which closed on 18thJune 2021, invited all interested parties to make their views known on this matter and other matters related to access to higher education particularly for groups who are underrepresented in the higher education population. One-to-one stakeholder...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Schemes (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: The Student Grant Scheme is a critical financial support for students participating in further and higher education. As in any statutory scheme, a core principle of the scheme is that there is consistency of approach and an equitable treatment for applicants as part of the means assessment process. All applications are assessed nationally with reference to the terms and conditions of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Schemes (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: Progression is a key tenet of the Student Grant Scheme and section 2 of the Student Support Act 2011 defines progression as "the process by which learners may transfer from one course to another course where the award that may be made on the successful completion of the second mentioned course is of a higher level..." Generally speaking, a grant will not be paid to a student for a repeat...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Costs (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: The Student Grant Scheme is administered by the centralised national grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland), a business unit of CDETB (City of Dublin Education and Training Board), on behalf of the Department. The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter for SUSI to determine. As part of SUSI’s internal processes, Post Assessment Quality...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Costs (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: The Student Grant Scheme is administered by the centralised national grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland), a business unit of CDETB (City of Dublin Education and Training Board), on behalf of the Department. The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter for SUSI to determine. As part of SUSI’s internal processes, Post Assessment Quality...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: In higher education, the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning has been working to support higher education institutions in embedding universal design for learning (UDL) principles in teaching and learning practices. Student Success is one of the Forum’s priority areas, and under this strand a number of projects focusing on universal design for learning have been...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: There are currently 74 projects at various stages of the project lifecycle across the further and higher education sectors, as set out in the table below. While a small number of further education projects are excepted to be completed by the end of 2021 the majority of projects are due to be completed across 2022 and 2023. Lifecycle Stage Higher Education SectorNo. of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: The new National Development Plan (NDP) provides for a step up in capital funding for the further education and training (FET) sector. It is envisaged that expenditure will increase from less than €20m last year to approximately €100m by 2025. While the previous NDP introduced, for the first time, a dedicated capital envelope for the FET sector, the new NDP will now enable a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: The information sought by the Deputy in relation to the 8 State Boards that fall within the remit of my Department, is provided in the attached table. Name of Aegis Body the number of members of each board the number of women on each board; % of board that is made up of women An tSeirbhís Oideachais Leanúnaigh agus Scileanna...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: In order to qualify for funding under the Department's Free Fees Initiative students must meet the criteria of the scheme including the separate residency and nationality/citizenship requirements in their own right. In order to meet the residency criteria a student must have been ordinarily resident in an EU/EEA/Swiss/UK state for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: Progression is a key tenet of the Student Grant Scheme and section 2 of the Student Support Act 2011 defines progression as "the process by which learners may transfer from one course to another course where the award that may be made on the successful completion of the second mentioned course is of a higher level..." Students accessing graduate entry medicine will, as a matter of course,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: Under the Department's Free Fees Initiative (FFI), the Exchequer pays tuition fees on behalf of eligible first time undergraduate students attending approved full-time undergraduate courses. In order to qualify for funding under the Department’s Free Fees Initiative, students must meet the criteria of the scheme including previous education attainment. In this regard students...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 390 and 391 together. In July I announced Government approval for €105 million for the third level sector to safely reopen in September 2021 in line with public health advice. The package will include financial support for further and higher education to return on-site safely in line with public health advice and additional supports for students in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: Cavan ETB has identified the development of the site of the former Army Barracks in Cavan as an opportunity to centralise further education and training provision and eliminate the need for various rented accommodation arrangements around Cavan town. Plans are currently being advanced by the ETB for interim temporary accommodation for Cavan Institute on the Barracks site. Funding was...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Contracts (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: The details regarding procurements that took place by way of negotiated procedure without prior publication in 2020 and 2021 for my department are listed in tabular form below. No such contract was placed in 2020 and a single contract was awarded so far in 2021 with a value of €350,000. This cost will be paid in the coming months of 2021. Department of Further and Higher Education,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Unions (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: Significant additional Funding has been made available to support students under recent budgets and through the Return to Education Packages for 2020 and 2021. The principal support provided by my Department in financial terms is the Student Grant Scheme. The budgetary provision for the Student Grant Scheme in 2021 is €364.5m. The Student Grant Scheme provides grant assistance to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Schemes (12 Oct 2021)

Simon Harris: The main support provided by my Department in terms of financial supports is the Student Grant Scheme. The Student Grant Scheme, administered by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), provides grant assistance to students attending an approved full-time course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency,...