Vol. 411 No. 1
683 Tomás Mac Giolla asked the Minister for Education if she will make a statement on the current workings of the Tempus scheme for the exchange of higher educational personnel between Ireland and Hungary; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that a number of Hungarian undergraduates are taking up the study of the Irish language in Trinity College; and if she can provide any assistance for the development of these international exchanges.
The Tempus Programme, which is the Trans-European Mobility Programme for University Students, was introduced, negotiated and agreed during Ireland's Presidency of the EC in the first half of 1990 and was adopted by the General Affairs Council in May of that year. The programme, which is part of the PHARE initiative to assist the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, provides opportunities for third level students and staff from these countries to spend a period of time studying/teaching in the member states of the European Community, or participating in a placement in business or industry. The initial pilot phase, three years, of the scheme commenced on 1 July 1990. Participants do not pay tuition fees, but the institutions concerned receive a grant equivalent to about half the fee per student from the EC funding available for the programme.
