Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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382. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he and his Department have identified any specific obstacles which may impede improvement and achievement in the further and higher educational sectors and impact our ability to continue to establish Ireland's reputation as equal to the best globally in higher education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45991/23]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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384. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which he and his Department propose to broaden the higher education opportunities for undergraduates with a view to maximisation of their opportunities in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45993/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 382 and 384 together.

Supporting all third level students on their education journey and addressing and overcoming obstacles which may make this journey more challenging is a core strategic function of, and one of the key reasons for the establishment of, my Department.

It should be said that there has been much progress made by my Department in enabling and supporting Higher Education Institutes to deliver in key performance areas, as well as tackling some of these challenges faced by students, since its establishment. This progress is underlined by the recently released Times Higher Education University Rankings 2024, which show that Irish HEIs do particularly well in metrics related to research productivity, industry links and international outlook.

I acknowledge, however, that the rankings also highlight areas where we can and must improve. One such area is the high staff to student ratio, which has been noted by my Department and HEIs as an area that requires improvement.

The monies secured in Budget 2024 will see some €195m in additional funding for the higher education sector in 2023 and 2024. This includes €95m in once off funding in 2023 for pay, pensions and non-pay costs and €99m in core funding, pay, pensions, medicine place, other strategic healthcare expansion and part-time fee supports.

Additional core funding of €60m for the higher education system in 2024 will be allocated to strengthen capacity and increased staffing levels, enhance support services for students, and supported greater alignment of provision with priority skills needs.

Other areas such as affordability for students and achieving greater access to education are also key priority areas for my Department. Cost of living in particular has been identified as a key barrier to students, educators and other staff in the sector.

As a result, at the Budget 2024 announcement last week Minister Collins and I announced a range of measures to support students, including a package of once off cost-of-living measures in the 23/24 academic year. These will include a €1,000 reduction in the student contribution fee for higher education students eligible for the free fees initiative, and for September 2024 the abolishing of all student contribution fees for all incomes under €55,924.

Other key measures include the further investment of €8.1 million, and increase to €17 million overall, in the Student Assistance Fund for the 2023/24 academic year, the increase in maintenance rates of 10% from 2024, as well as the introduction of a renter’s tax credit for parents of adult students, and the full restoration of student maintenance grants for post graduates from September 2024 for the first time since the financial crash.

Encouraging those who are unable to study full time because of work, long distance travel or other challenges or commitments in their lives is also a key priority for my Department. As a result I announced that students on specified undergraduate part-time and part-time online courses will also be eligible for the fee support from September 2024 for the first time.

These and other targeted funding measures announced by Government will help to deliver on these key priority areas. My Department and I will continue to work towards securing a Higher and Further education system that is accessible and affordable for all, as well as providing for learners and educators a system that delivers according to the highest international standards.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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383. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the role he sees for the further and higher education, research, innovation and science sectors in the current year and future years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45992/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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My Department has made significant changes in the further and higher education, research, innovation and science sectors since its establishment in 2020, and are looking forward to seeing these sectors flourish over this current year and the years to follow.

With 400,000 people enrolled in learning across further and higher education, the Department is responsible for a fairly sizeable sector. Learning outcomes have a significant influence on people's life paths.

One of my key priorities is to remove barriers and to ensure that further and higher education is accessible for more people. Education is a driver of innovation, a driver of skills development and a tool that can break down inter-generational poverty.

Compared to the EU and OECD averages, Ireland has high levels of higher education attainment. Survey results indicate that 86% of employers that have recruited graduates from higher education are satisfied with their quality.

The major priorities for my Department over the current period include:

Unified Tertiary System

In order to ensure the Further and Higher Education and Research and Innovation sectors work collaboratively and effectively together to meet the diverse learning and development needs of all people, my Department is seeking more agile, sustainable and integrated approaches to equipping the whole of the workforce and population with the skills and knowledge that they need and thereby expand the capacity for knowledge creation in a rapidly changing labour market and society.

We will develop a new Tertiary Education Strategy, as provided for in the Higher Education Authority Act, 2022, continuing and expanding a co-creative approach with sectors and stakeholders, drawing on a range of engagements with the sector including a series of regional dialogue meetings which were held in June 2023 involving all regional actors, to shape and guide policy and ensure the achievement of major cross-Government policy objectives.

In addition, my Department is working with the HEA and SOLAS to embed and progress the new National Tertiary Office to jointly develop programmes between Further and Higher education to provide firm and systemic pathways for learners, enabled by qualifications and quality assurance systems.

The Department will continue to drive the transformation in Technological Universities, where the past decade has seen a major reconfiguration of higher education with the establishment of five Technological Universities, with a mandate to drive skills, innovation and smart specialisation in their regions, ultimately contributing to more balanced regional development. The challenge in the next phase is to transform the systemic capabilities of the TU sector to enable them to deliver most effectively for their regions.

We will implement the National Access Plan, in collaboration with the HEA, including a focus on the development of programmes for people with intellectual disabilities and continue to develop policy and funding initiatives to support equality, diversity and inclusion among staff and students and to implement key policies including the strategy to prevent sexual violence and harassment.

I am also committed to making further progress in addressing cost as a barrier to higher education by identifying the measures which provide the most benefit to learners and families. Budget 2024 focuses on my priority of reducing the cost associated with further and higher education and increases to the SUSI grants system. Budget 2024 will see a change for the first time ever to the free fees initiative to include part time, online and blended education. In addition to this, postgraduate students will see a return of maintenance grants.

In 2024, we will continue implementation of the Review of the Student Grant Scheme (2022) including by introducing reforms to the student support system to ensure it is aligned with the changing needs of students and families.

An investment of €3 million will reduce the costs of education by removing PLC fees with effect from September 2024. We are breaking down barriers to education by expanding the scope of the Fund for Students with Disabilities to help students with disabilities access further education and training with an allocation of €2 million. We are mainstreaming an additional €1 million to support the Adult Literacy for Life Strategy to ensure that every adult in Ireland has the literacy, numeracy and digital literacy to fully participate in society. We are supporting prisoners to access employment opportunities upon release by providing €1 million to the Building Bridges initiative. Our Education and Training Boards have been to the forefront of the ongoing response to the needs of the substantial number of Ukrainian citizens arriving in Ireland, as well as the increase in those seeking international protection. We are providing €15 million in 2024 to support the continued provision of English languages courses to support the integration of Ukrainian nationals into Irish society.

Increased overall tertiary demand, pandemic-related training delays and buoyant employment opportunities in apprenticeship-related trades has created backlogs in apprenticeship training. As a result, I prioritised apprenticeship in the recent Estimates, resulting in a €67 million investment into the apprenticeship system. This will enable growth in the craft apprenticeship training system from 13,000 places in 2022 to over 16,000 places in 2024 - an increase approaching 25%.

Reform of Further Education and Training (FET)

My Department is working closely with SOLAS and the ETBs to develop the integrated FET College of the Future and review its organisational design, securing improvements in quality assurance, programme development, enterprise engagement, digital transformation and data management to maximise the impact of FET Reform.

The provision of €3 million in Budget 2024 will allow this progress to be consolidated and expanded. It will focus on quality assurance processes and the development of a centralised ETB resource to support new programme development, building on recent success in collaboration of development of new micro-credentials.

Reconfigure Ireland’s Skills system:

We are on track to complete the OECD review of the National Skills Strategy to meet skills and workforce development priorities for the climate, digital and demographic transition. We will develop a 2023 Strategic Framework for Skills responding to the recommendations in the OECD Review with a particular focus on securing a step-change in Ireland’s performance on Lifelong Learning.

My Department will be examining options to strengthen structures for regional engagement between enterprise and the tertiary education system in order to meet regional skills and clustering priorities.

National Training Fund

The National Training Fund can play a key role in future proofing the skills needs of the labour market and ensuring that workers can upskill and reskill, accessing lifelong learning opportunities. Following Minister Donohoe’s comments on the future operation of the Fund in his Budget Speech, my officials will collaborate with their colleagues in the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, on options including legislative changes.

Research and Innovation

My Department is progressing a landmark Research Bill to amalgamate the functions of Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council into a new Research Agency, to maximise the impact of the approximately €300 million of national competitive research funding which is currently being invested in this area; importantly, this represents almost 40% of Government expenditure on R&D.

A whole of government approach to the implementation of Ireland’s National Research and Innovation strategy, Impact 2030, is also being progressed to ensure the national research and innovation system supports key Government strategies such as the White Paper for Enterprise, the Climate Action Plan and Smart Specialisation of regions. A key focus will be on ensuring and communicating the impact of research and innovation at every level - local, regional, national and international.

As part of the Talent Pillar of Impact 2030 a review of National Supports for PhD researchers has been undertaken. Work is continuing with enterprise co-funders on a new internationally prestigious Innovate for Ireland PhD scholarship programme focused on national challenges.

In addition to these core priorities, my Department is actively engaged in the Shared Island initiative and the EU Peaceplus programme for Northern Ireland. Projects underway include all-island research centres managed by SFI, North/South research programmes managed by the HEA, student mobility and education and skills initiatives.

I am also committed to ensuring Ireland maximises participation in relevant international and European education, research and innovation fora including the European Research Area, Horizon Europe, Erasmus+ and the European Universities initiative. I am pleased to confirm that we have secured funding to make an application to join CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research and to appoint a chief scientific advisor for Ireland.

Finally, a new international education and research strategy is currently being finalised. The Strategy will emphasise Shared Island, European and Global Ireland engagements across the spectrum of further education, higher education, skills, research and innovation.

Underpinning all of these initiatives is a major programme of capital investment, focused on meeting the needs of the sector as a whole, including the further development of our Student Accommodation provision, which must also be delivered in such a way as to meet the challenges of Climate change and the need to reduce carbon emissions.