Results 121-140 of 11,761 for speaker:Niall Collins

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: In budget 2025, we made a significant investment of €77.4 million to grow apprenticeship, a valued option for those who wish to gain a skill or improve their skills across many sectors of the economy. There are currently 77 national apprenticeship programmes available from levels 5 to 10 of the national framework of qualifications, NFQ, across a diverse range of skills from plumbing...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: There is no decision from the Government, or any recommendation from the Department of public expenditure and reform to the Government to make a decision, on the TU borrowing facility. That is something that is raised with me quite regularly, so that is to answer it straight up for the Deputy. However, it is our intention to increase supply as much as we can. That is why the intention of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: As the Chair stated, the Deputy has picked a fine example. That is exactly what is being inquired into by the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Higher Education Authority through their statutory process and, I understand from media reports, An Garda Síochána, so there are lots of moving parts in that regard. It is incumbent on any higher education institution to ensure value...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: We are developing a new student accommodation strategy to identify accommodation needs and responses in campus locations, in line with the long-term student accommodation policy adopted earlier this year. The strategy will encompass all demand. However, there is a key emphasis on providing State support for the most disadvantaged students who cannot participate in the market and who require...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: From 2017 to the end of August 2024, 15,222 purpose-built student beds were built, bringing the total stock of student beds to in excess of 48,000. Since 2020, 9,241 student beds have been completed, with 7,046 of those beds in the private market and 2,195 beds provided by the higher education institutions. Of the 2,195 public beds provided by the higher education institutions, 1,021...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: I agree that research equipment should be as new and as up to date as possible. We need to avoid older equipment and equipment that is reaching its end of use. In December 2023, €15 million in capital funding for research equipment across the higher education sector was announced by my Department under the higher education research equipment grant. This funding was disbursed via the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: I will ask the Department to let the Deputy know whether we are in possession of the figure he is seeking regarding equipment that needs replacing. I will revert to him on that for sure. High-performance computing, HPC, is linked to the points Mario Draghi made, as referenced by the Deputy. In August this year, the Minister confirmed the appointment of an expert panel to review the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: In budget 2025, we secured €6 million in annual funding to support the activation of more than 1,200 new student accommodation beds through leasing. This measure will support target group students in availing of new accommodation supply, with at least 30% of all developments being available at below market rates. A sum of €1 million has been secured to provide student...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Education and Training Boards (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: I think both Deputies will understand the structure of ETBs and their governance, and to say otherwise would be to misrepresent their structure. To address the funding of further education, our Department has significantly increased its investment in further education and training in recent years, from about €909 million in 2020 to more than €1.055 billion in 2024, excluding...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Education and Training Boards (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: Nobody is washing their hands of it. The Deputies may not want to take local responsibility or may think there should not be local responsibility, but it is my view the members of the Cavan and Monaghan ETB should be aware of this. It is their duty to be aware of what is happening in the organisation for which they have a corporate governance remit and oversight. Whether or not there was a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Higher education institutions are autonomous bodies and are responsible for their own day-to-day management and operational affairs, including the management of academic affairs and how they utilise core funding allocations. As part of budget 2025, the Government agreed a total National Training Fund funding package of €1.485...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: I thank the Deputy. He referred to the student assistance fund which, since the establishment of this Department in July 2020, has grown significantly to north of €25 million. The Deputy will also be aware that the autonomy afforded to our higher education institutions in terms of administering the student assistance fund locally is crucially important. The student services offices...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Further and Higher Education (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: I thank the Deputy. Our further and higher education system plays a central role in ensuring that graduates are equipped with the essential skills that will enhance their employability. It allows graduates to adapt to diverse tasks and contribute meaningfully to the workforce and society. There are approximately 400,000 people enrolled in further and higher education in Ireland, and this...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Further and Higher Education (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: I wish to point out to the Deputy that our National Skills Council and the nine regional skills fora created under our national skills strategy foster engagement and collaboration between relevant Departments and agencies, the education and training system and enterprise. To secure more effective governance of Ireland's skills ecosystem, the National Skills Council has been reformed in line...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Further and Higher Education (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: The regional skills fora are aligned to our education and training board areas. The Deputy will be aware of his own local education and training board, which would be Kildare and Wicklow.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Further and Higher Education (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: My own is the Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board. The regional skills fora are excellent. The regional skills managers do excellent work in that they collaborate on a daily basis on the ground with industry and employers. They are in constant rolling conversation and collaboration, assessing where the gaps are in the pipeline of skills coming out of our colleges and training...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Education and Training Boards (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 12 together. I share the Deputy's concern to ensure that adult learners are supported in their learning journey in our further and education and training system. On the issues raised in the Deputy's question, the Minister has no function in respect of the operational management of our education and training boards, ETBs. As independent statutory...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: I wish to refer to the student accommodation strategy. The long-term student accommodation policy was approved by the Government in January 2024. This policy will inform future student accommodation strategies and schemes that are being developed throughout 2024 and beyond. The dual-benefit policy aims to increase the supply of specific accommodation, therefore removing students from the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: The key to student accommodation is the same as it is for housing: to increase the supply. We must bring on more supply to address the demand. We also have an obligation to try to reduce costs. That is the reason we put a lot of work into the standard design for purpose-built student accommodation, which is similar to the school building programme, for example, whereby there is a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Education (8 Oct 2024)

Niall Collins: We are pleased to be in a position to increase all income threshold limits for student grants in budget 2025. From September 2025, we are increasing the special rate of maintenance threshold from €26,200 to €27,400 in line with social welfare increases. We are increasing all other maintenance and student contribution grant thresholds by 15%. We are also increasing the...