I am aware of the Deputy's interest, and indeed the interest of the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, in all items on the west coast, and this development no less. I know the Deputy is well aware that Galway and Roscommon ETB is being supported by SOLAS in developing its preliminary business case proposal under the FET college of the future major projects fund. The proposal put forward by Galway and Roscommon ETB relates to the development of a new state-of-the-art FET campus on a site adjacent to the Mervue training facility. Due to the close proximity of this training centre to Atlantic Technological University, ATU, and the University of Galway, the new development proposes to strengthen tertiary provision in Galway city and in the wider region. I understand GRETB has submitted its business case proposal to SOLAS for evaluation, which is currently targeted to take place in early April. Following evaluation, business cases that meet the evaluation criteria will advance to the next stage of development: pre-tender, project design, planning and procurement strategy. The funding envelope referred to by the Deputy relates to part of my Department's overall capital NDP allocation and provides for initial funding for the establishment of four new capital programmes. The FET college of the future major projects fund was established to address existing deficits in FET infrastructure and to support projects that drive reform and facilitate consolidation and integration of further education and training. The strategic infrastructure upgrade fund was established to support smaller-scale investments in existing FET infrastructure. The technological sector strategic projects fund was put in place to provide additional capacity to strengthen the role of TUs as drivers of regional development. The higher education strategic infrastructure fund was open to all higher education institutions to cofund strategic projects to a maximum of 50% to deliver high-quality infrastructure for higher education institutions. Those capital investment programmes have supported an ambitious transformation agenda across both sectors and will help ensure that our campuses are flexible and future-proofed to meet the needs of our learners and teaching staff. As regards the allocation of the overall funding, the overall approach the Deputy has asked me about, I know it is kind of a multipart question but, as regards the big line items, I hope my reply gives some information.
Sentiment score: 0.31
For the record, as regards Galway and Roscommon ETB, I think €1.03 million in funding just in the current year is already earmarked, even aside from this project. I am aware, however, that there was a request for the square footage to be reduced. I think there was an application for 25,000 sq. m. The college was invited to submit a revised business case. There was a meeting with SOLAS and Department officials with all 12 ETBs included in this package, including Galway and Roscommon ETB, in April and May 2024 and each ETB gave a presentation on its proposals. Following those meetings, each ETB, including Galway and Roscommon ETB, was provided with feedback on affordability, value for money and relevant regional and national FET policy objectives. Based on that, all ETBs were asked to refine their business case proposals to ensure they delivered on priority infrastructure requirements within available funding parameters. ETBs were invited to submit their proposals to SOLAS for evaluation. GRETB recently submitted its business case proposal, and that is the evaluation scheduled for the first week in April, so we are not too far off a milestone. The Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, is following this with great interest as well. That is where it is at, so it is effectively next week or next fortnight.
Sentiment score: 0.19
It would be unhelpful for me to comment on the particular facility in terms of the details of it because I am not informed on it. It would be unfair to the project. However, I take the Deputy's point that phase 2 will now follow and will undoubtedly provide important services. I think her suggestion is that it would be better to do the whole thing at once, if I understand her correctly. That is a natural, intuitive argument to make. I have seen elsewhere that sometimes projects can be overly ambitious - I am not making any comment on this particular project but am speaking in a general sense - and have had a large scope and a large vision but ultimately have failed to get off the ground or failed to get to where they need to be. Sometimes it is better to take it in chunks and in stages and to meet funding with ambition at a moment in time, address the immediate needs and then look to build on that. There are horses for courses, and different courses can be taken in different projects. SOLAS is engaging intensively with GRETB and, as I said, that process should progress next month.
Sentiment score: 0.06
The Deputy is being a little bit elastic in his supplementary question. A question on Galway and Roscommon ETB has morphed to include pharmaceutical course provision at the Waterford campus of SETU. I will run with it, however.
Sentiment score: 0.00
We are also on the theme of constructive collaboration. I do not know if the Deputy was in the Chamber for my interaction with Deputy Fitzmaurice but I fully agree with both Deputies. I am very keen to see these courses proceed. The provision on high-end professional qualifications in areas such as veterinary science and pharmaceuticals will be a hallmark of the technological universities. I am a big supporter of both. On the point regarding agriculture, I have visited both colleges. Since being appointed, I have been visiting as many as possible of the higher education institutions, stakeholders and facilities that are under my remit. I have visited both colleges and spoken to both management teams. The points the Deputy and Deputy Fitzmaurice have raised have very much been on the agenda. There has been slippage. The institutions have put their hands up and said that because these are complex courses, a regulatory approval process must be undertaken and laboratory equipment and specialist facilities are required. It is not as easy as flicking a switch to turn it on, despite their best efforts. I will have to come back to the Deputy on the position regarding the pharmaceutical course but the working date for the veterinary course is September 2026. I will come back to the Deputy on the pharmaceutical course.
Sentiment score: 0.07
I thank the Deputy. She mentioned the audiovisual room presentations and so forth. As I have told the House this morning, I am a new Minister and am reading into the brief. If Members know of groups or interested parties who wish to engage with me, they should feel free to direct them my way. I cannot guarantee I will meet everybody every time but I will do my best to meet with stakeholder groups and take their points on board. As the Deputy will know, digs accommodation is a long-established and traditional source of student accommodation that remains popular. I will continue to encourage and support it. We need as many rooms and accommodation options as possible. I am committed to making sure that the student experience and quality of student life remain as high as possible. I am conscious of students having long commutes and how that can detract from college life. Ultimately, student accommodation is needed in all its forms. It is something I am sure we will return to in these debates and something I will be focusing on. The Deputy's question is on the need to safeguard students in digs accommodation and how that might be done. In line with the Housing for All objectives to increase protections in the private rental accommodation sector, in 2023 my Department published a voluntary regulatory framework and sample licence agreement for use by students and homeowners. This identified the key issues to consider when entering a licence agreement for digs accommodation. Previously, it was somewhat ad hoc and more of a private contractual relationship. I hope that guidance has been helpful. That licence agreement should be of assistance to those entering into such arrangements. That framework and licence agreement are on the Government website. I can send them to the Deputy if she does not have them but they are certainly available online. They have also been shared with all higher education institutions to allow them to be included on their respective student accommodation websites. We are trying to get that message and that sample agreement document out there. My Department also offers economic support for students experiencing financial difficulties. The student assistance fund can assist students in third level institutions who are experiencing exceptional financial need. That is available to students who are unable to meet costs associated with day-to-day participation, including the payment of rent and utility bills. We had a discussion about SUSI grants and different supports a few moments ago but these are additional supports for students in exceptional circumstances. I will engage further in my supplementary replies.
Sentiment score: 0.37
As does mine.
Sentiment score: 0.00
My daughter also commutes to college and I would prefer if she did not have to commute such a distance. I see at first hand that it can detract from quality of life. I have met student unions, most recently the union in Maynooth, and have heard that message conveyed. I completely get it and appreciate it. On the framework being voluntary rather than mandatory, there is always a risk at a time when we are trying to increase supply and where there have been traditional arrangements in respect of digs accommodation. It is not quite the same as a tenancy or private rental arrangement. There is a degree of informality about it. There is a balance to be struck if we are to avoid scaring potential digs providers out of the market. It is often a "mom and pop" operation, a householder with a spare room or an elderly person who takes someone in during the college week. It arises in those types of situations. Of course, we need to protect students and all of those entering into arrangements but that must be balanced against the risk of an overly burdensome framework discouraging those people from participating, which would lead to a shortage of supply, which also would not be a good thing.
Sentiment score: -0.02
On ATU, I recently sanctioned the purchase of 16 acres by ATU Sligo. This is a site just opposite the college campus. The Deputy may be aware of it. That will come on stream in due course.
Sentiment score: 0.00
The Deputy is talking about Mayo. All politics is local. I understand that. I might have to come back to her on the details of the situation in Mayo.
Sentiment score: 0.00
This is a very serious issue, which I take on board. It is one I am keen to progress. It is governed by the national access plan for higher education 2022-28 which sets out the ambition for an inclusive and diverse higher education sector. An important component of that plan is its recognition and naming of additional priority groups which are considered marginalised or disadvantaged. This includes students who are carers. Many supports are provided that seek to address the struggles and challenges that arise. The principal financial support is the student grant scheme provided by my Department. The special rate of maintenance grant is the highest rate of maintenance grant available and is targeted at students most in need. I confirm that carer’s allowance and carer’s benefit are both eligible social welfare payments for that special rate of maintenance grant. In addition to carer’s allowance, the carer’s support grant and the domiciliary care allowance are classified as income disregards. These payments are not included when calculating reckonable income for the purposes of student grant eligibility. The student assistance fund is also available to students experiencing exceptional financial need. It is designed to support students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds with ongoing needs for financial support and to provide emergency financial assistance for other students. My Department also recognises the need to offer support for more flexible forms of learning. Last year, a new part-time fee scheme for specified undergraduate courses was launched. The aim is to provide additional flexibility of course provision to students who are socioeconomically disadvantaged and may not, due to their particular circumstances, be in a position to study full time. My Department is committed to examining diverse and flexible pathways. Some include non-traditional options such as Springboard+ programmes, microcredits where you can take mini courses and stack them together to achieve particular qualifications, and tertiary programmes where you can commence study in an FET college or institute closer to home with the option of progressing to a more traditional university setting in later years. These are all attempts to make it flexible and accommodate those who may struggle more to access traditional courses.
Sentiment score: 0.25
I do not disagree with any of that. That is why my Department is rolling out multiple diverse and more flexible pathways and financial supports and also non-financial supports. I spoke about the variety of other grant aids and the maintenance grant and how various social protection payments are disregarded from those grants to ensure there is no loss of income for people who take up a place. In addition, on the non-financial aspect, I spoke about Springboard+, microcredentials and tertiary programmes which are all new innovations. A lot them did not exist a couple of years ago until the Department was created and began to examine these areas in more detail. There is also the part-time fee scheme, which allows fee supports under the Student Support Act to be available to students studying part time. That is another new innovation; it was introduced in recent years as part of this Department. They are all opportunities to acknowledge full-time education is not an option for everybody and attempt to meet the learner on their own terms and to widen the pool of people availing of higher education.
Sentiment score: 0.38
I will not repeat myself but all the measures I introduced in terms of flexibility, financial supports, non-traditional routes to education and geographically distributed access points, including those close to the learner's home, will contribute to and support that endeavour. I hope they are already assisting learners.
Sentiment score: 0.66
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Ó Snodaigh agus leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach as ucht na ceiste seo. Freagróidh mé i nGaeilge í, ach ós rud é nach bhfuil mo chuid Gaeilge chomh láidir le Gaeilge an Teachta Ó Snodaigh, rud a bhfuilim ag obair go dian air chun feabhas a chur air, freagróidh mé na ceisteanna forlíontacha i mBéarla agus cuirfidh mé na freagraí ar aghaidh chuig an Teachta i nGaeilge ina dhiaidh sin. Tá ról tábhachtach ag ár gcóras ardoideachais maidir le tacú le húsáid na Gaeilge agus í a chur chun cinn. Tá freagracht reachtúil ar an Údarás um Ard-Oideachas a chinntiú go gcuireann institiúidí ardoideachais an teanga chun cinn agus go n-úsáideann siad í. Ba chóir a thabhairt faoi deara, áfach, go bhfuil na hinstitiúidí ardoideachais neamhspleách ina gcuid straitéisí Gaeilge, lena n-airítear soláthar agus leathnú na gcúrsaí ollscoile a chuirtear ar fáil trí Ghaeilge. Ní choinníonn an tÚdarás um Ard-Oideachas taifead faoi láthair ar líon na mac léinn atá ag staidéar trí mheán na Gaeilge san ardoideachas. Mar sin féin, chuaigh oifigigh i mo Roinn i dteagmháil leis an Údarás um Ard-Oideachas agus dúirt sé go ndéanfar athbhreithniú ar na sonraí atá ar fáil do mhic léinn chun an t-eolas seo a bhailiú. Nuair a bheidh sé seo socraithe, scríobhfaidh m’oifig chuig an Teachta leis an eolas cuí ar lá eile. Suíonn oifigigh mo Roinne ar an gcoiste stiúrtha don pholasaí nua don oideachas trí mheán na Gaeilge lasmuigh den Ghaeltacht, i dteagmháil le hoifigigh ón Roinn Oideachais agus páirtithe leasmhara eile chun an Ghaeilge a chomhordú ar fud an chórais oideachais. Cé go bhfuil na hinstitiúidí ardoideachais neamhspleách, cuireann mo Roinn maoiniú €900,000 ar fáil gach bliain chun tacú-----
Sentiment score: -0.15
An bhfuil mé thar am? Ceart go leor.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Gabh mo leithscéal as Béarla a labhairt sa supplementary but I must do so for the sake of the accuracy of the reply. My Gaeilge is not quite as líofa as an Teachta Ó Snodaigh's, although I am ag foghlaim mo Ghaeilge arís gach lá. I completely agree with the Deputy about the 5,000 students coming through and the need for provision to match that at every level of the system. Given the increased interest agus an méid suime i measc páistí in oideachas through the medium of Gaeilge, it is something that I want to support. I will endeavour to do so, working with my colleague, an tAire, an Teachta McEntee. It is something that I suspect we will return to but I want to put on record my support for the principle and assure the Deputy that we are working towards that.
Sentiment score: 0.33
Cinnte. Cloisim everything the Deputy says. Táim very much aware of the issues that he raises. There is a lot of sense there and I will take that on board.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. I thank the Deputy for his kind words and equally offer him comhghairdeas on his election. It is good to see him here representing Kildare North. With regard to the student accommodation in Maynooth University, at the outset I should say again that I fully appreciate the importance, and am committed to the provision, of high-quality, affordable, multioption student accommodation because we need to enhance the student experience. That is not just a woolly goal. It means cutting commuting times and allowing students to immerse themselves in college life thanks to the practical benefits of being close to the college. It allows for late-night tuition, involvement in societies and the fulfilment of what college is about. It is important for quality of life and the practicality of not turning up tired for lectures after a long commute. All of those things are important. As I mentioned earlier, my daughter is a commuter to college so I do understand the challenges facing students. On the overall plan, as a short-term measure to address the challenges faced by students in accessing accommodation, the Government approved funding to higher education institutions to activate projects with planning permission that had stalled due to cost and viability challenges. We took the approach in recent years, in order to turbocharge the availability of on-campus accommodation, of looking for expressions of interest for projects with planning permission that were effectively shovel ready but had stalled for various reasons. We looked to reactivate those. Under that measure a percentage of student beds are ring-fenced for targeted groups of students. The target groups are those identified as being most disadvantaged using the SUSI, NAP and DARE schemes as the metrics. The Maynooth University student accommodation scheme is one of the projects being funded as part of this short-term activation programme. That project is currently on site, with 116 beds under construction and expected to be delivered for the 2025-26 academic year. Maynooth may be the first university to come through the programme and is leading the way in that sense. That is very welcome.
Sentiment score: 0.22
I fully agree and share the Deputy's ambition for Maynooth. For that reason, I immediately made inquiries about progressing that project when I took office. A total of 116 student beds will come on stream this year in Maynooth. The university will be first to come out of that programme. I am also meeting the university president, Professor Eeva Leinonen, tomorrow. I will be visiting Maynooth for an event tomorrow, which the Deputy may also be attending, where I will meet the president. I have met her a number of times already and have engaged with a number of the principals of the student union at Maynooth. I am very mindful of that. We have a two-pronged strategy. There is the student bed activation project which I already mentioned. That involved taking projects that were shovel ready and had planning permission but where a regulatory or cost issues arose and seeing if we could move them forward. That is what we have done here and in other colleges. There is also a longer term student accommodation strategy which is currently being drafted and on which I am very much focused. That strategy will introduce measures such as increasing supply of accommodation for students, reducing the cost of delivery using standardised design guidance, promoting the more efficient use of existing building stock and examining vacancy. We are trying to do more, faster and better.
Sentiment score: 0.20
I will respond in reverse order, taking Deputy Conway-Walsh's points first. I am not sure I accept that there is a line of student accommodation strategies from here to Mayo. Student accommodation was not a government function until very recently, when it came into my Department. It is an easy thing to throw out in a debate but I do not know how accurate it is. I presume the Deputy will agree that we need to reduce the cost of provision, which means we can do more with less. I presume she also agrees that we need to standardise design guidance, as we have done for secondary schools, for example. We also need to promote the efficient use of existing stock. There are good reasons for rethinking this. I am a new Minister and am currently looking at what is working and what is not working. I hope the Deputy will agree we are doing that. I am engaged in that process at the moment. As with everything else, I welcome suggestions and inputs. Much as I would love to convene a working group for Maynooth and north Kildare, I remind Deputy Farrelly that I am Minister for the entire country.
Sentiment score: 0.27
Indeed. I am actively engaged with the university and will be there again as soon as tomorrow. I hope there will be ongoing engagement into the future.
Sentiment score: 0.44
I am aware of the Deputy's ongoing advocacy for all things Dundalk, and, indeed, for Louth. We have discussed her interest in this matter previously, most recently when I attended the opening of the new FET centre in Dundalk, which involved a very significant Government commitment of almost €30 million in the education space for the region. I was delighted to open the centre, along with Deputy McGreehan and other colleagues. I am familiar with Dundalk Institute of Technology. I had the opportunity very recently to meet its president, albeit informally. I will be meeting him more formally and visiting the college in the near future. It is a critical institution both for the region and nationally. As with all higher education institutions, its positioning within the overall higher education landscape is a matter for its governing body in the first instance, within the context of national policy and the relevant legislation. My Department and the HEA have engaged, and continue to engage, with DkIT. Support continues to be provided in the context of the overarching national strategy on higher education landscape restructuring. Most recently, DkIT was allocated €3.85 million through the technological sector advancement fund. The institution's strategic plan for the period 2024 to 2028 sets out an ambition to achieve university status through the development of a strategic collaborative partnership with an existing university. I am aware and very much supportive of the fact that DkIT signed a formal agreement with Maynooth University in January 2024 setting out the intention of both institutions to explore joint strategic engagement on future collaborations over the coming years. Without wishing to predict or set out the path they may follow, that collaboration, which I expect will deepen, is welcome. The collaboration with Maynooth University provides a pathway into the future for DkIT. I am very supportive of that, as is the HEA. I will have the opportunity in the near future to visit the college more formally. I will continue to engage on the matter.
Sentiment score: 0.26
Regarding the policy framework, I do not foresee any blockage. However, there is a technical difficulty, which is why DkIT has not already been subsumed. The Technological Universities Act 2018 provided that two or more institutes of technology could jointly seek technological university designation through a process. At that time, a number of applications were invited. DkIT's governing body did not pursue that option at the time. We have to respect the autonomy of institutions and decisions made by their governing board. The situation has now moved on. I understand a new governing board is in place at DkIT and there is a renewed engagement, which I welcome and support. There is great potential in the collaboration that is already progressing with Maynooth University. It makes sense for lots of reasons, including alignment of courses and programmes and geographical factors. The two institutions will very much complement each other. It is already showing itself to be a very productive engagement. Without wanting to commit, and respecting the autonomy of the institutions, I expect closer and more formal collaboration into the future.
Sentiment score: 0.19
As I said, I have had an informal meeting with the president of DkIT. I have studied the situation and am very familiar with it. DkIT is something of an outlier in that most of the ITs have been assimilated at this stage. The direction of travel is to have stronger collaborations in order to achieve a sum that is greater than the parts. That is already being done very successfully in many of the TUs around the country. DkIT is working away with Maynooth University and that collaboration is progressing well. The Deputy is very supportive, as am I, of all they are doing. I look forward to working together to progress that.
Sentiment score: 0.28
As the Deputy correctly noted, the European directive on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications ceased to have general applicability to UK award holders post Brexit, that is, after December 2020. Qualifications from the UK were automatically recognised during the transitional period, which ran from 1 February to 31 December 2020. If a qualification was recognised during that time, the professional can continue to practise in Ireland or the EU. While this overall formal framework no longer applies to the recognition of qualifications from the UK, there is ongoing extensive experience within the various competent authorities, which, in consultation with my Department and other Departments, have developed revised pathways for recognition for applicants with UK professional qualifications. Anyone wishing to practise in a regulated profession must meet the professional qualifications required by law. People should contact the relevant competent authority or regulator if they have queries or wish to advance that process. There is no requirement to have a qualification recognised in order to seek employment in unregulated professions. Of course, as the Deputy will understand, certain professions are regulated for a reason, with a high standard being necessary. There must be some rigour in that regard. There is a small number of professions where it is not possible to provide for continued recognition of UK qualifications in Ireland due to provisions in Irish law based on EU directives or regulations. Some of them relate to a requirement for establishment or residence in an EU member state. Inevitably, as divergence occurs over time following Brexit, it may be the case that mutual recognition becomes more difficult in certain areas if standards and requirements begin to change. My Department continues to engage with the UK Department for Business and Trade on this matter. At our most recent meeting, in January 2025, both Departments agreed to monitor developments at EU and UK level to assess impacts arising from any further initiatives.
Sentiment score: 0.14
I thank the Deputy. On her last point about the constituent's query, if she wants to send that to my office I will happily take a look at the details of it. I will say, based on prior knowledge before I was ever a Minister in this Department, the Teaching Council has a particular set of requirements. Somebody even within the State may come a cropper - the Deputy mentioned, I think, philosophy or some of the courses. There is a very specific set of requirements around undergraduate subject choice and then usually a postgraduate qualification in teaching methodology. Those two must be combined or follow in sequence to be recognised by the Teaching Council. I do not know the details of the Deputy's constituent. I am happy to take a look at it but it may be less to do with the UK qualification and more to do with the qualification itself. I wanted to flag that; it may be of interest or assistance to the Deputy's constituent. There is provision within the CTA, the existing agreement, and some professional sectors such as veterinary, architects, legal and others can come to an agreement which would, I suppose, be arrived at between the two professional bodies and the sectors. That would effectively reinstate the EU professional qualifications directive for that sector. That could be implemented by the competent authority on request and will form part of future developments.
Sentiment score: 0.28
On the Deputy's Teaching Council case, I will take the details away but it is not uncommon, unfortunately, that people have different levels of accreditation or recognition within the system, notwithstanding the Teaching Council registration. I am not going to make any comment on the individual's situation. I do not know but if it is of any assistance, I have come across a case in my own constituency work in the past and that is not uncommon at all. Often it depends on the actual original qualifications pursued, or the particular subject choices pursued by the student, whether they meet the requirements or not. As is the case in supplementaries, the Deputy's supplementary spans a number of areas. I think she was talking about returning from Australia.
Sentiment score: 0.13
For which professions?
Sentiment score: 0.00
I think we can because my own sister is a doctor who qualified in Australia and returned to Ireland and is now practising. It is evidently happening, from personal experience. On the wider arrangement, I recently spent time in India on a St. Patrick's Day trade mission. I was engaged on the reciprocal arrangements there, of which there are many. We have a reciprocal arrangement with multiple states around the world. If there are particular gaps, I am open to hearing about them. It was not in the original question so I do not have a full brief on that but I am happy to take a look at it.
Sentiment score: 0.15
I thank Deputy Kenny, and I will treat with the programme for Government commitments and the rest later. I would be interested to know whether the Deputy agreed with the rest of my comments in that article because I did talk about targeted supports. I talked about addressing the cost of education and improving access to education. I talked about the existing support schemes and whether they should be widened or revisited to ensure the net is cast exactly where it needs to be. Are they even progressive supports, targeted at those most in need? I am not convinced that a universal measure, blanket-applied without any regard for means or indeed surplus means in some cases, is appropriate and a good use of public moneys. There are competing demands such as student accommodation, course provision, quality of education and the core training fund, or the core gap we have spoken about in other parliamentary questions. I would welcome any engagement on this topic around what priorities should be pursued and what the opportunity costs would be of prioritising some measures above others. That is a really important point. My intention in dealing with this issue is to consult. No decisions have been made yet, and we are still in the early cycle of the budgetary process but it is important to have that debate. In that regard, I am holding an event next week where I will engage with student bodies, the universities, access officers and the representatives of different associations, including students' unions, taking their views on board in terms of understanding what the barriers are to access to education, what the costs associated with education are, and with regard to existing supports. We heard earlier that 143,000 students already benefit from the free fees initiative - almost every undergraduate, bar perhaps those in some private colleges and some repeat courses for people taking a second degree course. Some 66,600 students additionally benefit from that student contribution fee being paid in full or part. A very significant cohort of people is already receiving significant State support. I understand the desire to continue to broaden that pool. My view is that we should do so in a targeted fashion that provides support and respects those most in need, as opposed to a blunt instrument which may not be the best use of those funds. I am open to discussion on it.
Sentiment score: 0.41
I thank the Deputy. We are in a new Government; I am a new Minister. We have had an election. The outworking of that election is a coalition Government. Not every policy of every party is going to be fulfilled. No party won a majority.
Sentiment score: 0.28
Yes, the programme for Government will be honoured. The programme for Government commits to a reduction in the student contribution fee in a financially sustainable way, which I will do, of course. I am not going to renege on a programme for Government commitment. I am going to follow it fully but how do we do that? Is it abolition, as Deputy Boyd Barrett argues for? That is €1.5 billion every Government term. How many student accommodation beds could we build for €1.5 billion? How many courses could we provide, and how many more SUSI grants could we provide? What other ways could we usefully deploy that money? Would every recipient of that €1.5 billion be categorised as somebody in need? In a universal scheme, I think probably not. These are the conversations that we have to have. If we could even progress the measures that support those most in need and address access to education in a financially sustainable way, we will have these conversations. I am holding an event next week to start that conversation.
Sentiment score: 0.15
Donogh O'Malley or many others could be referenced in this debate. My party has always prized education and put it to the fore. Education is the bridge to all that we do as an economy and subsequently as a society because it is the private enterprise, created by a successful education system, that creates the public good and the resources that we then use to support the public good. Deputy Kenny touched on the many competing challenges and the many potential alternative pathways through this in his supplementary question. That is what I want to explore in the coming weeks. We are very early into the budget cycle, and I look forward to those discussions.
Sentiment score: 0.30