Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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85. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the percentage of third-level courses that have not yet returned to full-time in person learning; the steps he is taking to reduce this figure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49346/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Following Government approval, I published A Safe Return: Plan for a safe return to on-site Further and Higher Education and Research in 2021/22 on June 15th. The Safe Return Plan can be accessed at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/bcd91-a-safe-return-to-on-site-further-and-higher-education-and-research/.

The plan, which is predicated on the sector’s full commitment to a significant increase in on-site teaching and learning activities and research, was developed following extensive discussions between sectoral representatives, public health and other relevant stakeholders, and provides a framework for higher education institutions to enable a return to on-site campus learning that that is in line with public health guidance.

In that context, the sector has now arrived at a position where the return to on-site is well underway with approximately 400,000 learners having returned to on-site activity across all our further and higher education institutions. At a minimum, on-site activity includes laboratory teaching and learning, classroom based teaching and learning, tutorials, workshops, smaller lectures, research, return to work-spaces and access to libraries with appropriate protective measures in place.

As part of the safe return to on-site learning, other on campus non-educational activities and facilities such as sports, bars, canteens, clubs and societies are operating in line with prevailing general public health advice for those activities.

Higher education institutions are autonomous bodies, and the way in which the Plan is implemented varies from institution to institution, recognising their own local context and physical infrastructure. However, the extent of planning and engagement undertaken by the sector in preparing for and implementing the safe return for staff and students is testament to its commitment to significantly increase the level of on-site provision for the 2021/22 academic year.

As part of the implementation phase, the sector continues to work in close alignment with public health and accordingly, some large HEIs are seeking to adjust and adapt to increasing levels of on-site learning as they move forward. The Higher Education Authority (HEA) has provided me with figures to establish presence rates across the higher education institutions using a reference point of the 4th October 2021. The data shows that the average daily student presence on campus at that point in time was 111,971 students or 48.7% of the student population. This represents an increase of 420% in the numbers of students on-site this time last year, in October 2020.