Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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347. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to set down the estimated costs of recruiting a retention officer for each higher education institution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13599/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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My Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to the HEA designated higher education institutions including all of the universities and institutes of technology. The HEA allocates this funding to the institutions and the internal disbursement of funding is then a matter for the individual institution.

Higher education institutions are autonomous bodies and are responsible for their own day-to-day affairs, including the allocation of all of its income (both public and private) and for the recruitment of staff such as retention officers.