Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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2129. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the costs under the Budget 2026 Skills Development Programme and supported by the National Training Fund; the specifics of the expansion of the construction and green talent pipeline in support of Government priorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58721/25]

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I welcome the opportunity to set out the funding allocated in Budget 2026 for the expansion of the construction and green talent pipeline in support of Government priorities.

Building on existing momentum to further expand the training offerings for these areas, Budget 2026 provides €1.75m to SOLAS and Skillnet Ireland to ensure that the workforce is equipped with the skills required for the greater adoption of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC).

The increased adoption of MMC is a key pillar of the Government’s approach to greater innovation and productivity in the construction sector. It is widely acknowledged that in order to meet Ireland’s ambitious targets for housing, climate action, and infrastructure delivery, the construction sector must adopt new technologies and processes, including off-site construction, digital tools, and innovative materials.

A National Demonstration Park for MMC is a key deliverable in Housing for All and the Government’s Modern Methods of Construction Roadmap. The Park is being developed at the National Construction Training Campus and will provide an accessible flagship location for MMC demonstration and specialist training.

My Department has also partnered with Skillnet Ireland, the national workforce development agency, to develop the Skillnet MMC Accelerate platform. The platform was launched in May and highlights MMC projects, provides career pathways and new education and upskilling provision. The Skillnet MMC Accelerate team also hosts a series of regional events to drive and promote MMC to the sector.

Expanding on this, the additional funding in 2026 will support:

• Recruitment of a manager to oversee the operation and further development of the National Demonstration Park for MMC.
• Further programme development, in line with identified partner needs across industry and Government.
• Delivery of an MMC mobile training rig, to further promote this dynamic area of work to schools all across the country, building on the success of the NZEB/retrofit and Construction mobile training rigs already in use.
• Development of an MMC Competence Framework, which has been identified through enterprise engagement as a critical strategic need, will standardise role expectations, assist employers with workforce planning, support training providers, and underpin workforce transformation efforts. Building on the framework, a competence assessment would allow individuals and businesses to identify skills gaps and align with targeted upskilling more efficiently.
• Ongoing content development and updates to the MMC Accelerate platform will ensure that it remains relevant and valuable.

• A focus on working with ETBs to deliver on tangible outputs and outcomes to achieve the Strategy’s objectives.
• A FET-version of the successful higher education Springboard+ programme. This Government initiative offers free and heavily subsidised course places leading to qualifications in areas where there are employment opportunities, including green skills.
• ETBs to agree and commence programme delivery across the seven economic sectors examined by Green Skills 2030, including construction and the built environment, agriculture, forestry and marine, and accounting and business.
• Enable the expansion of the Skillnet Offshore Wind Academy (SOWA) offering, with new micro-credentials.
• Support delivery across an expanded range of short courses, targeting increased learner and company engagement.
• Enable the development of the first iteration of an Offshore Wind Training Hub. The Hub will be delivered by Skillnet in the first, 2026, iteration and will be modelled on the existing successful Skillnet MMC Accelerate platform and SOWA. This Hub is envisaged as a tertiary coordinating facility to lead on new programme delivery, existing programme expansion and to serve as a point of contact for industry seeking to engage with the skills system.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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2130. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the costs from the Budget 2026 €426 million investment under the Research, Innovation and Science Programme to support fundamental research through the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies; the investment towards Ireland's associate membership of CERN; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58722/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The €426 million investment under the Research, Innovation and Science Programme will give us the capability to deliver transformative investment in research and innovation, securing long-term returns for the Irish economy and society. It sits alongside the capital allocation of €4.55bn which I secured through the NDP process, over half of which will be allocated to research and innovation.

This reflects my prioritisation of the research and innovation agenda as a key economic and social enabler for Ireland, through its importance to national competitiveness, resilience and productivity. The recently published Action Plan for Competitiveness and Productivity also clearly recognises the centrality of research and innovation to Ireland's future economic performance.

This investment will support a new national research infrastructure programme and enable greater capacity to drive solutions to national and global challenges including the green and digital agendas, competitiveness and innovation.

The importance of fundamental research, especially researcher-driven fundamental research, cannot be underestimated, in supporting a robust, cohesive and competitive research talent pipeline, and a thriving research and innovation ecosystem.

The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) engages in vital collaboration with national and international scientists, researchers, funding programmes, and institutes, with a commitment to research excellence, mentorship and fostering top level research talent. While DIAS is embedded globally, partnering with international research institutions, the institute also collaborates with academic partners and research institutions in Ireland, with a commitment to supporting research excellence and the next generation of Irish research talent.

DIAS is awarded core operational funding through the usual budgetary processes, engaging with my department on an annual basis. Whilst exact allocations for 2026 are still being finalised, core funding for DIAS increased from €8.245m in 2023 to €9.244m in 2025. The primary functions of DIAS are to conduct and publish research and DIAS researchers also engage in competitive funding calls to this end.

Ireland officially joined CERN as an Associate Member State on 22 October 2025. Irish researchers, entrepreneurs, and educators are now able to access a broad range of opportunities at CERN. While we are awaiting confirmation from CERN of Ireland's fee for 2026, it is estimated at approximately €1.94 million.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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2131. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the costs from the Budget 2026 €426 million investment under the Research, Innovation and Science Programme supporting Ireland's high-performance computing capacity to compete in future research, specifically in artificial intelligence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58723/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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As I have recently announced, University of Galway and the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking have signed a hosting agreement, which will pave the way to the procurement of a national supercomputer. That will benefit users across a variety of sectors and disciplines.

Healthcare, genomics, transport and weather forecasting are only some of the examples of sectors that have been critically advanced by High Performance Computing (HPC). Artificially intelligence is also strongly linked to HPC and I am looking forward to seeing how our supercomputer will bring about transformative innovation.

Following a competitive evaluation process, the EU Commission has awarded Ireland substantial co-funding to procure and operate the national supercomputer. The specific scale of the Exchequer contribution that will be required is currently being examined by my Department and will relate to the outcome of the procurement process which is expected to be launched later this year.

I should also draw the Deputy's attention to the fact that Ireland has recently secured approval from the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking for co-funding of an AI Factory Antenna, to be accessed by private companies, academics and public servants. The antenna will allow these users to experiment with AI in a controlled environment, bridging the gap for AI adoption and enabling AI scaling & optimisation.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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2132. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the costs from the Budget 2026 €426 million investment under the Research, Innovation and Science Programme for research infrastructure specifically for the renewing of outdated and basic equipment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58724/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government includes a commitment to examine a funding stream to address the needs of the tertiary sector with regard to Research infrastructure. To this end, I established an expert Working Group earlier this year whose analysis and findings underpinned this element of his Department's submission to the recent review of the National Development Plan.

The Department secured a capital allocation of €4.55bn through this process, over half of which will be allocated to research and innovation. This reflects my prioritisation of the research and innovation agenda as a key economic and social enabler for Ireland, through its importance to national competitiveness, resilience and productivity. The recently published Action Plan for Competitiveness and Productivity also clearly recognises the centrality of research and innovation to Ireland's future economic performance.

A significant component of the funding secured will be used to establish a major new research infrastructure investment programme. It will draw on the good practices of the original Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, as well as more recent initiatives and international good practice.

My Department's investment, on foot of the NDP review, will mark a step-change in public investment in research and innovation in Ireland. The launch of its new research infrastructure programme will be a landmark in the advancement of the national research and innovation system.