Results 101-120 of 2,181 for long speaker:Simon Harris

Our Rural Future Policy: Statements (14 Jun 2023)

Simon Harris: ...learning hubs. There are two new programmes rolled out by the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest, TUS, specifically aimed at making sure people in Laois, Offaly, Westmeath and Longford can now avail of these courses. It is a good and innovative step forward. We then went on to the TUS midlands campus, where we have doubled the capacity for apprentices. To Deputy...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (14 Jun 2023)

Simon Harris: ...Plan, and underpin the policy commitments set out in Housing for All. I have already established a dedicated student accommodation unit in my Department to develop and implement this policy alongside the Higher Education Authority. Since taking up office, my Department officials and I have engaged and continue to engage on an ongoing basis with the Minister and Department of Housing,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Costs (14 Jun 2023)

Simon Harris: ...Total reckonable income, after income disregards and Child Dependant Increase(s) are excluded, must not exceed €25,000; 3. As at 31st December 2022, the reckonable income must include one of the eligible long-term social welfare payments prescribed in Schedule 2 of the Student Grant Scheme 2023. The One Parent Family Payment is an eligible payment for the purposes of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (13 Jun 2023)

Simon Harris: ...Plan, and underpin the policy commitments set out in Housing for All. I have already established a dedicated student accommodation unit in my Department to develop and implement this policy alongside the Higher Education Authority. Since taking up office, my Department officials and I have engaged and continue to engage on an ongoing basis with the Minister and Department of Housing,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (13 Jun 2023)

Simon Harris: ...Total reckonable income (net of income disregards and Child Dependant Increase) must not exceed €25,000, and 3. As at 31st December, 2022, the reckonable income must include one of the eligible long-term social welfare payments prescribed in the Student Grant Scheme. The report of the Action Group on Access to Third Level Education made detailed recommendations concerning the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Road Network (1 Jun 2023)

Simon Harris: The Deputy makes an important point about cost-benefit analyses. This has been a bugbear of mine in my constituency for a long time. There are parts of certain rural communities, including some in County Wicklow, that will never measure up to a cost-benefit analysis that is based on an urban area. The Deputy poses an interesting challenge, to the system and to the Government, as to how we...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Research and Development (1 Jun 2023)

Simon Harris: ...chairing the inaugural meeting in the Autumn. In line with the Impact 2030recommendations, my Department has established an Evidence for Policy function. This aims to deliver a framework to enhance long term linkages between the public policy and research sectors, and to effectively embed research in policy development and/or its implementation. A Civil Service Research Network has been...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (1 Jun 2023)

Simon Harris: ...campaigns run by the higher education institutions. The Government has also approved funding of €1m to support the Technological Universities in the assessment of accommodation needs, which will inform a long term student accommodation policy and methodology which I hope to bring to Government before the summer recess. With regard to on-campus student accommodation in Cork, I can...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Cross-Border Co-operation (1 Jun 2023)

Simon Harris: Further Education Institutions, North and South, have a long history of collaboration, and I am very committed to the promotion of maintenance and strengthening of these relationships, as well as encouraging the development of new collaborations. While my Department does not have oversight of the operation of these relationships on a day-to-day basis, I would like to cite the strong...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Technological Universities (1 Jun 2023)

Simon Harris: ...Kilkenny County Council and Kilkenny Chamber, to explore how SETU can support specific activity based in Kilkenny in a manner that creates beneficial additionality to the TU’s portfolio and is sustainable long-term.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (1 Jun 2023)

Simon Harris: Until recently there has been a long-standing legislative impediment to farming apprenticeships under the Industrial Training Act, 1967, wherein it was stated that the development of apprenticeship programmes in “an activity of agriculture, horticulture or fishing which is an activity of primary production, or any activity of a professional occupation” was prohibited. I am...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (1 Jun 2023)

Simon Harris: ...registrations across the public service, including local authorities, to reach 750 annual registrations by 2025. This represents in excess of a seven-fold increase on 2020 registrations and will support a long-term goal of 7% of the apprentice population being employed by public service employers. My Department’s officials have undertaken a number of actions in order to make...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (1 Jun 2023)

Simon Harris: ...staff and continue to respond to the educational psychological needs of children in recognised primary and post-primary schools across the country. To address supply issues in the medium to long term a workforce plan for educational psychologists is being developed within the Department of Education. As an immediate short-term measure the Department of Education introduced a bursary to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (1 Jun 2023)

Simon Harris: ...permission for delivery of additional supply. The Government has also approved funding of €1m to support the Technological Universities in the assessment of accommodation needs, which will inform a long term student accommodation policy and methodology which I hope to bring to Government before the summer recess. My Department is also supporting increased usage of "digs"...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (1 Jun 2023)

Simon Harris: ...3 years;Exclusion of up to €14,000 rental income earned under the Government's Rent-a-Room Relief Scheme from reckonable income;An increase in student earnings outside of term time from €4,500 to €6,552; andA greater degree of flexibility for students who may have a long term social welfare payment but are falling outside of the special rate (this will allow a small...

Seanad: Garda Reserve: Statements (31 May 2023)

Simon Harris: ...xed; has been marked by the Government and the Garda Commissioner in recent years. In 2016, to mark the tenth anniversary of the first attestation of Garda reserves, the Garda Commissioner introduced a certificate of appreciation for their long service. This certificate is signed by the Garda Commissioner and presented to each reserve garda after they have completed ten years of service....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Status (30 May 2023)

Simon Harris: ...to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Deportation Orders (30 May 2023)

Simon Harris: ...without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (30 May 2023)

Simon Harris: ...to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Status (30 May 2023)

Simon Harris: ...for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. However, the nature of the naturalisation process is such that, for a broad range of reasons, some cases will take longer than others to process. In some instances, completing the necessary checks can take a considerable period of time. My Department is taking a number of steps to speed up the processing...