Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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103. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps his Department is taking to upskill and retrain women who are unemployed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24951/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Inclusion is one of the core strategic goals for my Department, and my ambition is to ensure that we provide supports and opportunities for learning to all. In that context I recognise that there are areas where particular efforts and supports are needed for unemployed women engaging in retraining and reskilling opportunities . I also recognise cost can often be a barrier to accessing education, in particular for lone parents or women seeking to return to education. That is why we are working to reduce the cost of education and introduce student grant supports for people.

Women are among the priority cohorts that Education and Training Boards consider in their planning and delivery of further education and training provision. The main FET provision for those who are unemployed is the Skills to Compete initiative. Courses offered under the initiative are built around three key priorities: delivering the essential skills required for modern workplaces; building strong digital skills; and developing the specific vocational skills to secure opportunities in growing sectors and occupations. Skillnet Ireland is committed to increased diversity and inclusion across all sectors of the economy. Although primarily tailored towards businesses and employees, there are a number of initiatives that can help women to upskill in the tech and digital industries.

It is also vital that we ensure that apprenticeships are seen as an option by people across society. Only a very small proportion of apprentices are women, and it’s vital that we support greater diversity. That’s why last month I announced a new gender-based bursary for apprenticeship employers. The bursary, which is worth €2,666, is available to employers who employ apprentices on any national apprenticeship programme with greater than 80% representation of a single gender. It is being implemented with effect from 01 January 2022, and covers all new apprentice registrations from that date on eligible national apprenticeship programmes. This bursary is in addition to the Government supports that apprenticeship employers receive via the craft training allowance and the employer grant.

My Department will continue to lead on the development of supports and opportunities for all learners to develop, upskill and retrain, so that they can develop to their full potential and transition out of unemployment into the work force.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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107. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department will revise upwards the earning limits for students who are applying for SUSI grants. [23263/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am committed to the addressing the costs associated with higher education, and this has been a priority for me over recent Budgets.

It is also why I commissioned the review of the Student Grant Scheme, which will support the strategic development of the scheme over the coming years in ways.

On the issue of student earnings, while the report does reference the potential to broaden the student earnings deduction, it recommends that the preferred course of action should be to increase the levels of financial support in order to reduce the hours which need to be worked by students in order to support better engagement with their studies and better retention on programmes.

This recommendation is in line with the approach I have taken to increase student grant maintenance payments, including the special rate of grant, by €200 per year starting from this September which will benefit all students entitled to receive a maintenance Grant.

More generally, it is the intention of my Department to publish an annual costs of education paper in advance of each year’s Budget. This will set out the options available to address costs and financial barriers for students and their families in accessing higher education, including eligibility and assessment changes to the Scheme itself, changes to grant rates and measures to change the student contribution. This should facilitate a discussion among the public, stakeholders and among Members in the House on which measures should be prioritised in the Budgetary process to support students and their families.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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108. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 124 of 20 May 2021, the status of regularising the terms and conditions of adult education tutors employed by education and training boards; and the timeline to address the outstanding commitments, recommendations, awards and claims within the terms of the quantum of the sectoral bargaining fund available for agreed sectoral bargaining units. [23589/22]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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A range of industrial relations issues pertaining to adult education tutors have been under discussion for several years under the aegis of the Department of Education and Skills preceding the establishment of my Department.

Notwithstanding this progress, the claim to align tutors to a pay scale of an existing grade ineducation and training boards (ETBs) currently remains unresolved. The Labour Court recommended in 2020 that the official side identify the scale of cost it was prepared or able to absorb and make an offer within those parameters given the constraints applying under FEMPI legislation and the Public ServiceStability Agreement (PSSA) in relation to cost-increasing claims.

This recommendation was made in March 2020 at the onset of the pandemic and consequently theDepartment's ability and capacity to develop a full response and engage on the issue was constrained by pressure of work arising from the public health emergency and the establishment of the Department during that period at which time responsibility for the claim transferred.

The Sectoral Bargaining Fund under Building Momentum is to deal with outstanding issues within the terms of the Fund and within the Exchequer funding limit in place. As the Department of Education leads negotiations for the ETB sector, my Department is liaising with it and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with a view to finalising the official position at the earliest opportunity. An assessment of the costs involved in any alignment to a pay scale is being undertaken as part of this work. Officials met with TUI and SIPTU representatives yesterday and it was agreed that a Working Group would be established to assist in that work.

Arising from the work of the group, I expect that my Department will in a position make a proposal to staff representatives in the coming weeks with a view to resolving this issue.

I will keep the Deputy updated on progress in relation to seeking to resolve this claim.