Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 51: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will respond to recent concerns expressed by the TUI that the Dublin Institute of Technology is to phase out construction trades as a result of the Higher Education Authority funding model which will penalise the provision of certain courses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19510/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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My Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to the Institutes of Technology. The core grant for the University and Institute of Technology Sectors is allocated according to the Recurrent Grant Allocation Model (RGAM), which distributes the grant according to student numbers by area of study. The RGAM aims to equitably fund similar types of students irrespective of the institution they attend, and to recognise the extra costs which arise in the case of students from certain backgrounds.

Apprenticeship student numbers have reduced substantially in recent years and as a principle HEA seeks to have the funding follow the student, therefore the allocation has been substantially reduced in apprenticeships to meet other areas of growing student demand. The HEA has advised that, while it is likely that there will be some change in the trades being offered by Dublin Institute of Technology as a result of the decline in student numbers, there is no intention to phase out all construction trades. It is a matter for each institution to determine how the block grant received from the HEA is allocated internally.