Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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851. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the supports his Department is providing to Tyndall National Institute in Cork; the plans that are in place to expand this support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36694/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The Tyndall National Institute (TNI) is Ireland’s flagship research institute in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) hardware and systems. It was established in 2004 under a partnership agreement between the Government and University College Cork to provide a national focal point for excellence in deep-tech research, development, postgraduate and specialised training in ICT.

I was delighted to visit Tyndall on the 26^th August to launch its Annual Report for 2023. I enjoyed seeing at first hand the important work taking place at Tyndall and learned more about the excellent research being undertaken there.

Tyndall’s funding comes from many sources including from my Department, from competitive research income, Enterprise Ireland & EU Horizon programmes and through direct industry project income. Tyndall has an established track record of using its direct Government funding to leverage additional funding from industry and other sources. Tyndall’s income exceeded €50m in 2023, an increase of 19% on 2022. €40m (80%) of Tyndall’s income in 2023 was from competitive funding sources while direct industry income increased significantly to €8m. During Budget 2024 it was announced that the core funding from my Department was being increased from €7m to €10m annually.

Future funding requirements for TNI will be assessed as part of the Estimates process with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, in line with the usual process for budget allocations for agencies. Officials of my Department engage closely with the leadership of the Tyndall Institute on a continuous basis in relation to future and emerging needs and objectives.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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852. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he has been made aware that the City of Dublin Education and Training Board has ended its participation in the vocational training opportunities scheme; if he will take steps to reverse this measure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36704/24]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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Officials in my Department contacted City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB) who have confirmed, in agreement with SOLAS, it has decided not to enrol new learners in its core VTOS programmes from this September for the following reasons:

• Numbers in core VTOS have been reducing over the years, from 814 in 2018 to 88 in 2023 in CDETB.
• Findings from the 2020 ‘Evaluation of Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS)’, including a recommendation that VTOS could be phased out as it did not represent value for money.
• Dispersed-VTOS learners, i.e., where learners receive a VTOS allowance but are integrated within wider Further Education and Training (FET) programmes, have greater access to a broader array of courses and facilities than core-VTOS.