Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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My Department is currently finalising work in relation to its new Statement of Strategy, which I expect to be published shortly.

During March and April of this year, my Department engaged in a public and stakeholder consultation exercise, where submissions and representations on the development of a new Statement of Strategy were invited. The Department received 84 such submissions through the public and stakeholder consultation processes, from a wide variety of respondents, including private individuals, further and higher education institutions, agencies of the Department and other public bodies, employers and representative groups.

A broad variety of themes can be identified in the responses to the consultation process. These include:

• Research, Innovation and Science Policy
• Access to Further and Higher Education and Training
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• Governance and Quality
• Staffing
• Education Policy in areas such as the transition to a Unified Tertiary System, and the future development of Higher and Further Education and Training,
• The continuing development of Apprenticeships
• Skills Policy
• Capital Investment
• International Engagement

To recall, the existing Statement of Strategy is organised around 6 Strategic Goals:

• Talent
• Innovation
• Inclusion
• International
• Governance
• Capacity

Between the existing approaches represented by the current Statement of Strategy, the thinking which emerged from internal reflections nd considerations, plus the inputs received through the public and stakeholder consultation process, it became clear that the new Strategy should build on the achievements of the first three years of the Department's existence and be designed on the basis of continuity of policy. It is therefore anticipated that the new Strategy will continue to focus on a number of key areas, such as the promotion of Research, Innovation and Science, prioritising policies of inclusion, and improving governance and performance while working to enhance Ireland's international profile.