Results 41-60 of 3,212 for speaker:James Lawless in 'Written Answers'

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: The Government recognises third level education can be a significant cost for families and students. In Budget 2022, the qualifying distance criterion for students to qualify for the non-adjacent rate of grant was reduced from 45 km to 30 km. In Budgets 2023 and 2024 My Department was able to provide further financial assistance to students most in need by increasing maintenance grant...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Mental Health Services (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: As autonomous bodies the internal disbursement of funding, including the funding of student services and mental health supports, is a matter for the individual institution. As such, it is not possible to provide the Deputy with actual costings to reduce the student to counsellor ratio as all higher education institutions are autonomous bodies and may have different methods of providing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I am developing a new Student Accommodation Strategy, due for completion later this year. As part of this work, evidence has been gathered through the Technological Sector Student Accommodation Programme (TSSAP), to assess opportunities to meet future student accommodation demand. A range of accommodation delivery mechanisms and funding options are now being examined. The Strategy will be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: Student societies are an important part of the third level experience for students, and as such, I support any measures by Higher Education Institutions to expand access to them, and to put them at the heart of campus life. The Deputy will be aware that the Universities Act 1997 confers autonomy on universities in relation to their internal operations, including administrative processes,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: In general, for student grant purposes, students are categorised according to their circumstances either as students dependent on parents or a legal guardian, or as independent mature students. A student may be assessed as an independent student (i.e. assessed without reference to parental income and address) if they have attained the age of 23 on the 1st of January of the year of first...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: Technological Universities (TU's) were created under the Technological Universities Act 2018 and came into being from the period January 2019-May 2022. Following their creation, the new TU's were eligible for capital funding under the National Development Plan (NDP), enabling them to access dedicated investment streams to support campus development, research facilities and regional...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: The Technological Sector Student Accommodation Programme (TSSAP) is currently progressing through the Infrastructure Guidelines Process, which includes a strategic assessment and preliminary business case. Stage 1 of the TSSAP included the development of a supply and demand model and a programmatic approach for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to submit preliminary business cases for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Accommodation (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: A new Student Accommodation Strategy is currently in development and is due for completion later this year. The strategy is informed by comprehensive evidence gathered through the Technological Sector Student Accommodation Programme (TSSAP), a national initiative aimed at increasing the supply of student accommodation across Technological Universities (TUs). I recognise that TUs play a vital...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: For institutions other than traditional universities to borrow, a consultation process with the Higher Education Authority (HEA) is required. This would necessitate the establishment of an appropriate framework setting out the criteria, financial and non-financial, including governance, oversight and reporting to define the operational process through which such consent would be sought and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: Under the National Development Plan (NDP), my Department allocates capital investment to Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) through programmatic funding calls managed by the Higher Education Authority (HEA). These funding calls invite applications from universities and technological universities to bid for infrastructure and equipment funding. The HEA evaluates submissions based on...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: My Department has disbursed just over €223m in capital funding to the Technological University Sector since 2020 under a number of capital programmes including the Higher Education Strategic and Infrastructural Fund (HESIF), the Infrastructure and Refurbishment Fund (IURF), the Energy Efficiency Decarbonisation Pathway Programme (EEDPP), the Devolved Capital Grant, the Apprenticeship...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I propose to take Questions Nos. 884 and 885 together. Currently, there are 77 national apprenticeship programmes available spanning from level 5 to level 10 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). The programmes cover an extensive variety of areas that feed into the development of the growing Irish economy. This ranges from construction and engineering to health, hospitality,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I propose to take Questions Nos. 886 and 887 together. The Government is committed to ensuring that employers continue to value apprenticeships and are incentivised to participate in apprenticeship programmes across all sectors of the economy. The department’s Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025 recognised that the cost of training is a potential barrier to employer...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I understand that the Deputy is referring to the Revised Estimates Volume for Public Services 2025 and the allocations under my Department’s B4 subhead. The B4 subhead is used to fund current activities in higher education institutions. The provision of higher education funding on an annual basis, is part of overall expenditure management and budgetary policy of the Government. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I understand that the Deputy is referring to the Revised Estimates Volume for Public Services 2025 and the allocations under my Department’s B4 subhead. The B4 subhead is used to fund current activities in higher education institutions. The provision of higher education funding on an annual basis, is part of overall expenditure management and budgetary policy of the Government. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I propose to take Questions Nos. 890 and 895 together. I understand that the Deputy is referring to the Revised Estimates Volume for Public Services 2025 and the allocations under my Department’s B4 subhead. The B4 subhead is used to fund current activities in higher education institutions. The provision of higher education funding on an annual basis, is part of overall expenditure...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I understand that the Deputy is referring to the Revised Estimates Volume for Public Services 2025 and the allocations under my Department’s B4 subhead. The B4 subhead is used to fund current activities in higher education institutions. The provision of higher education funding on an annual basis, is part of overall expenditure management and budgetary policy of the Government. I...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I understand that the Deputy is referring to the Revised Estimates Volume for Public Services 2025 and the allocations under my Department’s B4 subhead. The B4 subhead is used to fund current activities in higher education institutions. The provision of higher education funding on an annual basis, is part of overall expenditure management and budgetary policy of the Government. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I propose to take Questions Nos. 893 and 896 together. I understand that the Deputy is referring to the Revised Estimates Volume for Public Services 2025 and the allocations under my Department’s B4 subhead. The B4 subhead is used to fund current activities in higher education institutions. The provision of higher education funding on an annual basis, is part of overall expenditure...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (1 Jul 2025)

James Lawless: I understand that the Deputy is referring to the Revised Estimates Volume for Public Services 2025 and the allocations under my Department’s B4 subhead. As the Deputy will be aware Griffith College is a private higher education institution. Private institutions play an important role in the overall higher education landscape. These institutions may be in receipt of some limited...