John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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157. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his Department’s strategy to support a change in the cultural norm in which bullying and sexual harassment are not tolerated in the further and higher education sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25270/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his question on this important matter. Our higher education institutions have a duty of care to their students and staff, and a responsibility to foster a campus culture that is clear in the condemnation of unwanted and unacceptable behaviours, which act as barriers to their safety and their active participation in college life.

Significant progress has been made regarding the Framework for Consent in Higher Education, since it was first launched in 2019. The Framework aims to ensure the creation of an institutional campus culture which is safe, respectful and supportive.

In August 2020, I wrote to all the Presidents of the publicly funded higher education institutions, with a view to strengthening institutional action in the area of consent. Institutions were requested to produce individual action plans on tackling sexual violence and harassment and to submit these to the HEA Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality, whose responsibilities have been expanded to cover all areas of equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as oversight of the implementation of the Framework for Consent in HEIs.

As part of monitoring requirements moving forward, the HEA requires that institutions, in respect of both staff and students, report progress annually on implementation of the Framework for Consent.

My Department has provided support for a number of consent awareness raising and training initiatives in the HEIs, including the:

- NUIG Active Consent Programme

- UCC Bystander Training

- Speak Out report and support online platform

- The ESHTE Toolkit and It Stops Now Campaign led by the NWCI in conjunction with USI.

My Department is partnering with the Department of Justice and the NUIG Active Consent programme to support the development of an online hub that will provide, for the first time, an integrated, publicly available resource on sexual consent awareness and learning, which will be an important resource for our further and higher education institutions and the wider community.

The IUA has published guidelines entitled 'Guidelines for Universities on How to Respond to Alleged Staff or Student of University Related Sexual Misconduct', which are available to assist HEIs in this area.

THEA launched their PROPEL Report (Promoting Consent and Preventing Sexual Violence), in March 2021, with funding from my Department. The PROPEL report details key components and options for inclusion in institutional action plans, outline of best practice and guidelines for emerging policies and procedures in this area and a series of conclusions and recommendations.

With regard to the recently published surveys of student and staff experiences of sexual violence and harassment in higher education, I want to take this opportunity to thank students and staff across the country who took the time to engage with this survey and share their experiences with us. A total of 11,417 responses were analysed (7,901 students and 3,516 staff) and inform the findings.

The survey findings point to some positive developments in the higher education institutions that can be built upon in areas such as awareness raising and education. But there are also some deeply troubling findings, such as the levels of sexual harassment experienced by staff and students that responded to the survey and particularly the female students that reported that they had experienced sexual violence.

My Department is now working with the expert Advisory Group established by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), to consider the recommendations from these reports and to determine how best to respond to the survey findings.

With regard to bullying in higher education, I wrote to the Presidents of the Higher Education Institutions in June 2021; to request their support and participation in two surveys being undertaken by researchers at the specialist DCU Anti-Bullying Centre, with the support of the Department. The first survey focused on work-related experiences of staff in Irish higher education institutions which I will publish in the coming weeks and the second will focus on student experiences of bullying and will be rolled out in late 2022. By documenting the experiences and recommendations of staff and students, we will develop the strongest possible policies and practices in higher education institutions to tackle and eradicate inappropriate behaviours in the workplace.

I will continue to lead the way on institutional change, championing the changes required to achieve a cultural norm where bullying and sexual harassment are not tolerated.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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158. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 54 of 8 March 2022, his Department’s plans for the continuing development of Local Training Initiatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25350/22]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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173. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department is considering measures to improve the career pathways and ensure the continuity of contract for staff working within Local Training Initiatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25351/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 158 and 173 together.

The 2022 provision of €16.83m approved by SOLAS for Local Training Initiatives (LTI) in response to ETB requests, is broadly in line with the €16.53m approved for 2021. This funding is expected to support almost 4,500 LTI beneficiaries and will be reviewed during the year.

Training provision organised through LTI programmes is not intended to be permanent, and it is this aspect that provides ETBs with the flexibility to use their resources in the community effectively and in response to emerging needs. LTI programmes enable local communities to carry-out valuable and necessary projects of benefit in their communities and they are primarily designed for unemployed people, who are experiencing difficulty in gaining entry to the labour market. The importance of the role played by the LTI programme within its overall ETB provision is well-recognised.

LTI programmes are carried out in the local community run by local community groups and associations. Staff delivering courses are typically employed by the relevant community group or association and the terms and conditions approved for Local Training Initiative (LTI) co-ordinators is a matter for their employers. As such my Department has no role in relation to the career pathways for staff within LTIs.

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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159. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to encourage ethnic, religious and socio-economic diversity among students of psychology; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25365/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for their question.

Diversity is a key strength of Irish higher education. In recent decades our universities, institutes of technology, and colleges have been transformed, from predominantly national institutions catering primarily for school-leavers, to internationally oriented institutions engaged with an increasingly diverse student body, of all ages, backgrounds and gender identities.

The current higher education legislation requires institutions to promote gender-balance among students and staff, and for the Higher Education Authority (HEA) to promote the attainment of equality of opportunity. The new HEA legislation will advance this agenda by requiring the HEA to advance equality of opportunity, diversity and inclusion in higher education. Higher education institutions will also be required to prepare an equality statement setting out their policy regarding access and equality, including gender equality.

With regard to the Deputy’s specific question, the ethnic, religious and socio-economic diversity within any particular higher education course is not determined by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The student mix on any course is determined by issues such as: individual student choices; number of places; entry requirements; job prospects upon completion; and other such factors. It is not practical nor appropriate for any individual HEI to set predetermined criteria regarding the ethnic, religious and socio-economic diversity.

National Access Plan Equity of Access to Further and Higher Education continues to be a national priority for the Government and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. Inclusion is a key goal in my Department's Statement of Strategy. The Programme for Government also reflects the importance of supporting learners at risk of educational disadvantage and learners with special education needs in higher education. My Department is committed to the continued roll-out of supports and targeted initiatives in 2022 to tackle educational disadvantage and support equity of access, participation and success in both further and higher education.

The development of the new Strategic Action Plan for Equity, Participation and Success in Higher Education is at an advanced stage. The plan is being developed collaboratively between my Department and the Higher Education Authority. The plan has involved significant consultation with interested stakeholders, including higher education institutions, students, individuals and representatives of priority groups. There was a strong response to the consultation process and a total of 122 submissions were received from a wide range of stakeholders. This approach of the Plan will be rooted strongly in partnership approaches, across Government, institutions and communities. It will focus on improving the learning experience and success of learners and seek to enhance support for people who are under-represented in the learner population in higher education. We hope to have a more student centred plan that drives our strategic goal of inclusion which is a cornerstone of my Department priorities. I secured an additional €5m in budget 2022 to bring forward targeted measures to support the implementation of this plan when it is published.

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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160. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to address funding inequality in relation to studying counselling or educational psychology in which students pay approximately €45,000 in fees over three years without receiving payment for the work often provided to public services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25364/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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My Department is strongly committed to supporting the mental health of the population through the provision of graduates with the key competencies and skills to be effective in the health workforce, and support a range of clinical teams in our health services.

My Department understands there is a longstanding arrangement in place under which the HSE recruit Trainee Clinical Psychologists and sponsor their training in order to encourage employment with the HSE of suitably qualified professionals. This arrangement is made by the HSE and is not the responsibility of my Department. The question of whether similar arrangements should be put in place in relation to other psychological specialities in order to meet their workforce needs is a matter for consideration by the appropriate recruiting bodies.

Issues arising from sponsorships and employment eligibility in relation to psychologists, and indeed more generally, are matters for relevant employers rather than the responsibility of my Department.

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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161. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will report on his Department’s work towards tackling harassment and bullying on campus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24890/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for her question on this important matter. Our higher education institutions have a duty of care to their students and staff, and a responsibility to foster a campus culture that is clear in the condemnation of unwanted and unacceptable behaviours, which act as barriers to their safety and their active participation in college life.

Significant progress has been made regarding the Framework for Consent in Higher Education, since it was first launched in 2019. The Framework aims to ensure the creation of an institutional campus culture which is safe, respectful and supportive.

In August 2020, I wrote to all the Presidents of the publicly funded higher education institutions, with a view to strengthening institutional action in the area of consent. Institutions were requested to produce individual action plans on tackling sexual violence and harassment and to submit these to the HEA Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality, whose responsibilities have been expanded to cover all areas of equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as oversight of the implementation of the Framework for Consent in HEIs.

As part of monitoring requirements moving forward, the HEA requires that institutions, in respect of both staff and students, report progress annually on implementation of the Framework for Consent.

My Department has provided support for a number of consent awareness raising and training initiatives in the HEIs, including the:

- NUIG Active Consent Programme

- UCC Bystander Training

- Speak Out report and support online platform

- The ESHTE Toolkit and It Stops Now Campaign led by the NWCI in conjunction with USI.

My Department is partnering with the Department of Justice and the NUIG Active Consent programme to support the development of an online hub that will provide, for the first time, an integrated, publicly available resource on sexual consent awareness and learning, which will be an important resource for our further and higher education institutions and the wider community.

The IUA has published guidelines entitled 'Guidelines for Universities on How to Respond to Alleged Staff or Student of University Related Sexual Misconduct', which are available to assist HEIs in this area.

THEA launched their PROPEL Report (Promoting Consent and Preventing Sexual Violence), in March 2021, with funding from my Department. The PROPEL report details key components and options for inclusion in institutional action plans, outline of best practice and guidelines for emerging policies and procedures in this area and a series of conclusions and recommendations.

With regard to the recently published surveys of student and staff experiences of sexual violence and harassment in higher education, I want to take this opportunity to thank students and staff across the country who took the time to engage with this survey and share their experiences with us. A total of 11,417 responses were analysed (7,901 students and 3,516 staff) and inform the findings.

The survey findings point to some positive developments in the higher education institutions that can be built upon in areas such as awareness raising and education. But there are also some deeply troubling findings, such as the levels of sexual harassment experienced by staff and students that responded to the survey and particularly the female students that reported that they had experienced sexual violence.

My Department is now working with the expert Advisory Group established by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), to consider the recommendations from these reports and to determine how best to respond to the survey findings.

With regard to bullying in higher education, I wrote to the Presidents of the Higher Education Institutions in June 2021; to request their support and participation in two surveys being undertaken by researchers at the specialist DCU Anti-Bullying Centre, with the support of the Department. The first survey focused on work-related experiences of staff in Irish higher education institutions which I will publish in the coming weeks and the second will focus on student experiences of bullying and will be rolled out in late 2022. By documenting the experiences and recommendations of staff and students, we will develop the strongest possible policies and practices in higher education institutions to tackle and eradicate inappropriate behaviours in the workplace.

My Department has also provided a number of recommendations for inclusion in the third strategy on Domestic and Gender Based Violence.

I will continue to lead the way on institutional change, championing the changes required to achieve a cultural norm where bullying and sexual harassment are not tolerated.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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162. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he is taking to meet the skill shortage in construction in order to meet housing and retrofit targets given the skills shortages reported in the media to be in excess of 50,000 by 2030 making particular reference to any plans to support apprentices currently in the system through the cost of living crisis to ensure they can become fully qualified trades people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25393/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Department is working with colleagues both in SOLAS, the HEA and other Government Departments to deliver an appropriate response to existing projections of skills needs in the construction sector. We are currently finalising a report with Solas and I expect to publish this shortly, alongside a plan on how we plan to address the need.

Education and training relevant to the skills needed in the retrofitting and construction sector is delivered across the full remit of the tertiary sector system and through mainstream education and training as well as through specific programmes such as Springboard, the Human Capital Initiative and Skillnet Ireland.

Among the 65 apprenticeships currently available, 25 are craft-related. More specifically, they include housing and retrofitting related programmes. Curricula in existing apprenticeships are updated on an ongoing basis to keep pace with changes in industry practices and regulations.

General provision in areas such as green skills and sustainability, which includes retrofit and Near Zero Energy Building (NZEB), is ongoing across the FET sector, with some 50+ programmes already running across the sector. NZEB skills training comprising one to four days of training is largely targeted to existing construction professionals. Ongoing innovation in delivery includes a move to a blended model of training in addition to the development of a pilot VR programme which is expected to be operational by year end.

The Green Skills for FET Roadmap 2021-2030 was launched on the 23rd March. It incorporates the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and the Green Skills Action Programme which begun in 2021. The National Recovery and Resilience Plan 2021 committed €29M to NZEB & Retrofit upskilling and reskilling programmes and €10M to Green Skills Modules. Under the Plan, 4,550 retrofit and NZEB standard places and 60,000 green skills places are to be provided by the end of 2022.

Current level of retrofit and construction skills needs are being met through existing provisions. This provision can be scaled up in line with any growth in demands.

All of the 65 available apprenticeships are undertaken under a contract of employment. For the majority of apprenticeships, the rate of pay is agreed between the apprentice and the employer with the employer paying the apprentice during both on-the-job and off-the-job training elements of the apprenticeship.

For the 25 craft apprenticeships, the minimum rates of pay are agreed by the partners within the relevant sector, or are set out in Sectoral Employment Orders (Construction Sector and Mechanical Engineering Building Services Contracting Sector).

These minimum rates vary between occupations and sectors but in all cases craft apprenticeship rates are expressed as a proportion of the qualified rate, increasing yearly from 33% of the qualified rate in year one to 90% in year four.

Payment is also based on attainment of relevant skill, knowledge and competence achieved after successfully completing each phase of training. Training allowances for apprentices are calculated with reference to gross-wage norms payable in industry for the different trade sectors.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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164. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he is taking to ensure the roll-out of a sexual violence response programme (details supplied) to all third level educational institutions. [25211/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Significant progress has been made regarding the Framework for Consent in Higher Education since it was first launched in 2019. The Framework aims to ensure the creation of an institutional campus culture which is safe, respectful and supportive.

In 2019, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) awarded €350,000 in performance funding in recognition of the impact of the programme referred to by the Deputy. The programme was developed to tackle issues of sexual and relationship violence, by educating and empowering students to support the development of a visible institutional pro-social culture which stands against unacceptable behaviour and abuse and fostering a culture of positivity and support. The programme highlights the danger of normalising abusive behaviour, and cultivates an understanding of someone's capacity to intervene. The programme provides students with a safe environment to better understand appropriate social interactions and to identify unacceptable behaviour, ensuring an understanding of the importance and meaning of consent, but also more broadly, personal assertiveness and social responsibility.

Since the expansion of its remit in August 2020, the HEA’s Centre of Excellence for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion has worked with the Programme to ensure the national roll-out of this training. National reporting on the Framework for Consent in Irish HEIs in November 2021 showed that a majority of HEIs had engaged with the programme and were offering or intended to offer this training. This year the HEA will support a project that will make the online programme available to all publicly funded higher education institutions on a pilot basis.

In addition, funding of €11,996 was awarded by the Irish Research Council under Strand 1a for the intervention at second level - educating and empowering our young people to speak up and demand a zero tolerance approach to all forms of sexual harassment and violence.

I will continue to lead the way on institutional change, championing the changes required to achieve a cultural norm where bullying and sexual harassment are not tolerated.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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165. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will outline supports in place for students with disabilities to access further education and training; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25276/22]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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Active inclusion has always been a central tenet of the work of ETBs and FET providers, with an extensive reach into and across local communities. SOLAS’ publication FET in Numbers 2020: Learners with Disabilitiesrecords 11,376 learners (7.5% of all learners) enrolled in FET programmes who reported having at least one type of disability.

Fostering inclusion is one of the three core pillars of Future FET: Transforming Learningthe national Further Education and Training (FET) Strategy 2020-2024.It identifies addressing the needs of people with disabilities as a primary focus and commits to more consistent support for this group across FET. The FET sector is currently undertaking various works in relation to the Universal Design for Learning, and in this respect, SOLAS published 'UDL for FET Practitioners: Guidance for Implementing UDL in Irish Further Education and Training'guidelines last year.

There is a broad range of supports provided through the ETBs to support the participation of all learners, including those with disabilities. FET offers a full suite of programmes and these are made available to all participants, regardless of disability. Currently, a number of programmes are offered through Adult Literacy, Community Education and Specialist Training programmes to all participants, including those with physical and intellectual disabilities.

The Fund for Student Disabilities(FSD) provides disability support in higher education and FET. SOLAS now manages the FET element of the FSD with supports including academic/learning support; assistive technology equipment & software; hearing impaired supports; examination supports; non-medical supports and transport supports for learners with a disability.

SOLAS is also currently overseeing an independent evaluation of Specialist Training Provisionprogramme, which provides training for persons with a disability with higher support needs. The FET Strategy commits to implementing the recommendations arising from the evaluation over the lifetime of the strategy, with scope to increase accommodation of people with disabilities in mainstream FET rather than separate dedicated provision.

Building on its 2017 research into barriers to FET for the long-term unemployed and other vulnerable groups, SOLAS intends to commission further research and examine barriers to participation in FET, with particular reference to persons with a disability.

All of the foregoing initiatives and the broader operation of the FET system, including engagement with relevant stakeholders, provide SOLAS and the ETB system with in-depth knowledge and deep appreciation of the access requirements of learners with disabilities, which in turn will assist greatly with the future planning and delivery of such services in this priority area.