Written answers
Tuesday, 29 July 2025
Department of Education and Skills
Departmental Funding
Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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3394. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide details on the breakdown of funding of €600m as announced in June 2025 as part of the amendment of the National Training Fund (NTF) to enable skills development, to list what these skills are and the cost for each skill, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42993/25]
Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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3395. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide details on the breakdown of funding of €600m as announced in June 2025 as part of the amendment of the National Training Fund (NTF) specifically for the research sector including what the increase in the PhD stipend; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42994/25]
James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 3394 and 3395 together.
For more than twenty years, the National Training Fund (NTF) has played a key role in Ireland’s workforce transformation, upskilling employees, preparing job seekers, and supporting lifelong learning.
Budget 2025 delivered a significant investment through the NTF Surplus Package, allocating an additional €1.485 billion to the tertiary education sector over six years from 2025 to 2030. The Regulatory Impact Assessment published on my Department’s website on 17 June and circulated to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science sets out the allocation for the €600 million capital uplift as follows:
- €150 million capital funding to provide key training facilities in the areas of Veterinary, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Dentistry and to provide for universal access.
- €150 million for the upgrading of the tertiary estate.
- €150 million capital funding for the Further Education and Training sector.
- €150 million for the research sector including research infrastructure and an increase in the PhD stipend.
Amendments are required to the NTF Act to facilitate aspects of this NTF Surplus Package. These amendments will not change the purposes of the NTF. All expenditures will continue to align with the Act’s objectives: to enhance the skills of those in employment, offer training to job seekers, and provide information on skill needs.
My officials are continuing to progress this work, with a view to having the legislation enacted by the end of 2025. I would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank the Deputy and her colleagues on the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for their constructive engagement and strong support in advancing this important legislative change. Their commitment is instrumental in helping us invest in the future of our workforce and our country, underpinning the development of human capital and supporting the delivery of national economic, social, and regional development goals.
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