Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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157. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 92 of 18 October 2022, if he will provide a status update on the work of the working group focused on skills, participation and cost; the number of times the working group has met in 2022; the dates of all meetings; if the working group will produce a final report; the timeline for when the working group is expected to complete its work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59792/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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To take forward implementation of Funding the Future, I established a steering group which I chair alongside Professor Anne Looney and Professor Tom Collins. Two working groups have been established led by Professors Looney and Collins. The working group focused on skills, participation and cost is examining the potential to support students to avail of more flexible learning opportunities.

The Irish Universities Association (IUA) recently presented to this working group on a position paper an IUA reference group developed in 2020 on Part-Time and Flexible Study. The paper outlined a principles-based proposed approach to the funding of part-time study. The group has also considered flexible study in the context of achieving goals set by the National Access Plan.

The group has also put a focus on skills shortages in Nursing, and has a further subgroup considering expansion issues impacting on expansion - particularly in relation to securing appropriate placements.

This year Working Group 2 has met 5 times at the below dates:

- 13^thJune 2022

- 1^stJuly 2022

- 18^thJuly 2022

- 29^thAugust 2022

- 7^thNovember 2022

The working group updates the steering group at its regular meetings, and there is no report scheduled from the group. It will continue to inform the work of my Department on an ongoing basis.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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158. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 92 of 18 October 2022, if he will provide a status update on the steering group tasked with progressing the implementation of future funding; the dates of all meetings the steering group has held to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59793/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Government agreed a sustainable funding model for higher education in May 2022 following an extensive economic assessment undertaken through the European Commission's Directorate General for Reform.

Funding the Future, a funding and reform framework for higher education, was launched on the 25^thof May this year.

We have committed to a mixed model of funding, including additional Exchequer investment, employer contributions through the National Training Fund, and the student contribution.

Exchequer investment through the annual Estimates process will fund enhancements of core funding of higher education, with the intention of reaching additional core investment of €307 million over the coming years.

In return, the higher education system will make progress across a number of key reform and performance priorities.

I established the Funding the Future Implementation and Reform Group to provide guidance to the Department on the rollout of the new funding and reform framework and to oversee progress against identified reforms.

As Minister I am leading this Group in conjunction with two co-chairs, both experts in the field of higher education, Professor Tom Collins and Professor Anne Looney. Membership includes sectoral, enterprise and societal representatives. The Group has met on four occasions (May 25th, June 29th, September 7th, and October 19th) since we launched Funding the Future in May and its significant inputs informed this year's Estimates process. Budget 2023 saw the first tranche of investment - €40 million - allocated to address the core funding gap.