Written Answers Nos. 1431-1445
1432. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if it is possible for a person who is in receipt of an old age pension to complete a level 8 Springboard course over a two-year period instead of the standard one-year period.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39761/22]
View answerSpringboard+ is a targeted initiative which is used to provide funding for higher education courses aimed at meeting the need for in-demand skills in the economy and supporting jobseekers to return to employment.
To qualify for a free Springboard+ course you must be in receipt of an eligible DSP payment, be actively seeking work and available to take up work. If you are employed, you must pay a 10% contribution towards the course fee at level 7, 8 and 9 on the NFQ. However, level 6 courses are free to employed applicants. There are also residency criteria for participants not in receipt of an eligible social welfare payment.
A person must meet the eligibility criteria for both Springboard+ and the academic criteria for their chosen course. One of the conditions for participating on a Springboard+ course is that participants in receipt of an eligible DSP must continue to remain available for and be actively seeking employment. A person on the State Pension (old age pension) would not meet this criterion.
The Higher Education Authority (HEA) manages Springboard+ on behalf of this Department; all courses approved for funding under Springboard+ are selected by an independent panel following a competitive tendering process. All funded courses are fully validated and courses are advertised on the Springboard+ website (www. springboardcourses.ie). Completing a level 8 Springboard+ course over a two year period, instead of the advertised one-year period, could not be facilitated.
Terms and conditions that apply to Springboard+ are applicable to all applicants and that exceptions cannot be made in any particular case.
1433. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he intends to remove the financial barriers for graduates to enter medical degrees given the need in Ireland for medical professionals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39840/22]
View answerThe total level of fees charged to graduate entry medicine students is a matter for the higher education institutions, consistent with the principle of their institutional autonomy. However the State does provide support to institutions for Graduate Entry Medicine programmes in order to widen access and assist the students pursuing these programmes.
In this context, the fees of EU students enrolled in graduate entry medicine are partly subsidised by the state via the Higher Education Authority. As of the 2021/2022 academic year the state contribution is €11,950 per student per year. The balance of fees is payable by the student.
In addition, tax relief at the standard rate of tax may also be available in respect of tuition fees paid for approved courses at approved colleges of higher education and students experiencing financial difficulties may be eligible to apply to the Student Assistance Fund (SAF) for financial support.
At present the SUSI student grant scheme does not encompass graduate entry medicine. While there are legislative, policy and funding issues which arise in examining the question of extending student support for graduate entry medicine, the Student Grant Review did raise the policy question of whether there should be flexibility for graduate programmes in areas of critical skills shortages.
My Department will, therefore, be considering the options for reform in this area as part of the implementation of the student grant review having regard to ongoing developments regarding medical places.
1434. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science when the new scheme that will offer a stipend of €28,000 per annum to attract research talent to Ireland will come into effect; if current PhD students will be granted this opportunity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39877/22]
View answerInnovate for Ireland (I4I) is an innovative programme aimed at attracting and retaining research talent in Ireland. The purpose of the programme is to attract high achieving world class talent who might not have considered undertaking a PhD programme or, if they had, would not have considered Ireland as a location.
The next step in implementing this proposal will be a competitive call for proposals from consortia of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). This is being developed and should be initiated later this year. Thus, details of the scheme are still under development and the final shape of the scheme will be framed once proposals have been received and fully assessed.
The programme will be open to applicants from Ireland and abroad.
1435. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of craft apprentices waiting to access off-the-job training broken down by the amount of time that they have been waiting, the type of apprenticeship; and the ETB in which they are registered in tabular form. [39899/22]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy on the number of craft apprentices waiting to access off-the-job training broken down by the amount of time that they have been waiting, the type of apprenticeship; and the ETB in which they are registered, has been requested from SOLAS who is collating the data.
The information will be sent on to the Deputy as soon as it is available.
1436. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science when outstanding claims will be finalised for a person (details supplied) given that this matter has been ongoing for several months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39900/22]
View answerI understand from enquiries made by my officials that the Department of Education completed its review of the incremental credit application for the person concerned and advised Louth Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB) of its decision, in late April 2022. LMETB has confirmed that it is currently processing the application of this decision, which involves complex calculations backdated to 1983 and that it expects to have the matter finalised and the increment credit to be applied and paid to the person concerned on 19 August 2022.
1437. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the amount spent on traditional and online advertising by his Department in each of the past ten years and to date in 2022, in tabular form. [39956/22]
View answerThe Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science was established in June 2020. The table below details all advertising spend by the department from the establishment of the department to date.
Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science spending on advertising
The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science’s spending on advertising for the period is set out below. COVID-19 related spending is labelled as such.
*=COVID-19 related spending
|
Year |
Campaign |
Spend |
|
2020 |
"Keep it Small, Keep it Safe, Keep your Distance" campaign (social media)* |
€6,251.24 |
|
2021 |
“The Right Course” campaign (social media, radio) |
€26,825.22 |
|
2021 |
“How COVID-19 spreads” campaign (social media)* |
€12,560.41 |
|
2021 |
“Adult Literacy for Life” (radio) |
€41,794.02 |
|
2022 |
Changes to Student Grant Scheme in Budget 2022 (radio, social media) |
€38,095.49 |
|
Total |
€125,526.38 |
1438. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his/her Department has spent money or sought external assistance with Departmental, Ministerial public relations; and if so, the cost; and the name of the agencies, consultants and companies involved in each of the past ten years and to date in 2022, in tabular form. [39974/22]
View answerThe Department does not employ any external person or firm to deal with public relations.
There has not been any spending by the Department on public relations.
1439. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of legal cases brought against his Department in each of the past ten years and to date in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39992/22]
View answerThe information sought by the Deputy in relation to the number of legal cases brought against my Department in each of the past ten years is currently being collated and will be supplied to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1440. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the amount spent by his Department on legal costs or legal services in each of the past ten years and to date in 2022, in tabular form. [40010/22]
View answerThe information sought by the Deputy in regards to the amount spent by my Department on legal costs or legal service in each of the past ten year is being collated and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1441. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the amount spent by his Department on the procurement of office space and furniture and office IT equipment in each of the past ten years and to date in 2022. [40028/22]
View answerThe procurement, purchase and rent of Government offices is the responsibility of Property Management Services in the Office of Public Works, which acts as an agent for all Government Departments and offices. The number, terms and cost of the leases are a matter for the OPW.
I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department was established in August 2020 and commenced moving headquarters into existing State-owned office space in September 2022. I can also confirm that the majority of office furniture and office IT equipment for that location was supplied from existing inventory. Costs incurred by my Department in respect of Office Furniture and IT Equipment since its establishment are given in the tables below.
|
Expenditure (incl. VAT) |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
Office Furniture (including fit-out costs) |
€ 39757 |
€ 37609 |
€ 27623 |
|
Office IT Equipment |
€ - |
€ - |
€ 41,575 |
1442. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of times that he embarked on visits to foreign countries on behalf of the State since the formation of the Government; the geographical location of each visit; the number of days that he spent abroad on such trips; the dates upon which each trip took place; and the associated travel and accommodation costs which were incurred by his Department in relation to each trip in tabular form. [40046/22]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy has been collated and is set out in tabular form in the attachment below.
|
Year |
Location |
Number of Day’s Travel |
Dates upon trip took place |
The associated travel and accommodation costs |
|
2021 |
France (Paris) and Belgium (Brussels) |
2 days, 1 overnight |
25th November 2021 and 26th November 2021 |
€968.91 |
|
2022 |
Luxembourg |
2 days, 1 overnight |
4th April 2022 and 5th April 2022 |
€167.39 |
|
2022 |
France (Paris) |
2 days, 1 overnight |
4th July 2022 and 5th July 2022 |
€679.61 |
1443. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his attention has been drawn to an emerging issue in relation to the availability of e-books in third level libraries as a result of market manipulation by the so-called Big Five British publishers and the potential for this to damage the quality of education delivered and the depth of research produced by students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40152/22]
View answer1488. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his attention has been drawn to an emerging issue in relation to the availability of e-books in third level libraries as a result of market manipulation by the so-called big five British publishers (details supplied) and the potential for this to damage the quality of education delivered and the depth of research produced by students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41820/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1443 and 1488 together.
Under the Universities Act 1997, Technological Universities Act 2018 and the Institutes of Technology Acts 1992 to 2006, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are autonomous entities including with regard to the management of their library facilities and as such my Department has no function in this matter including in relation to the availability of e-books in the HEIs.
My Department does, however, provide funding to the Irish Research eLibrary (IReL), which is a nationally funded e-resource licensing consortium providing access to leading science, technology and medicine and humanities and social sciences resources on behalf of participating Irish publicly funded HEIs. IReL delivers quality peer-reviewed online research publications including journals, e books, databases and index and abstracting services.
In 2020 the Technological University (TU) Transformation Fund administered by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) allocated € 1.2 million to TU Dublin for IReL related activity.
In 2021 the HEA delivered €2.6 million to IReL for the support of transformative agreements and €300,000 for IReL management costs. This support is linked to the open research agenda in the context of moves to counter costs through the creation and use of open access materials and open educational resources including open textbooks.
In April 2022 under additional TU oriented funding secured by my Department and the HEA under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the HEA signed a sector wide grant agreement with all 5 technological universities, Dundalk Institute of Technology and Dun Laoghaire, Institute of Art, Design and Technology for delivery of an education and training reforms programme which includes work packages to adopt and deploy IReL across the entirety of the technological sector.
1444. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of additional places that are being allocated in further and higher education facilities in the coming 2022/2023 academic year to study speech and language therapy courses; the number of additional places to study occupational therapy; the number of additional places to study physiotherapy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40220/22]
View answerMy Department has been engaging with the Department of Health on the number of places available in areas where the HSE has identified significant skills shortages. These areas include speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy.
The matter of health workforce planning and ensuring an appropriate pipeline of qualified healthcare workers within Ireland, is a major priority for my Department. The Programme for Government commits the Department of Health to working with the education sectors, regulators, and professional bodies to improve the availability of health professionals and reform their training to support integrated care across the entire health service. An additional 9 places have been secured in physiotherapy and will be available from September 2022, along with an additional 8 places in the Level 6 physiotherapy studies course.
My Department and I are continuing to engage with the Department of Health and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can continue to deliver graduates with the skills necessary to support our healthcare system and support the strategic workforce planning by the health sector.
1445. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 631 and 632 of 14 July 2022, the expenditure each of the travel and accommodation allowances for apprentices in 2019, 2020, and 2021 [40298/22]
View answerThe Education Shared Business Service (ESBS) which operates under the remit of the Department of Education act as a paying agent on behalf of Education and Training boards ETBs and accordingly, Apprentices are paid training allowances via the PeopleXD system by ESBS while they undertake off-the-job training.
All Apprentices are registered by ETBs on the SOLAS ACSS Apprenticeship system and this information is subsequently posted to the PeopleXD system for payment purposes.
As the Deputy is aware, ESBS took over the payment of Apprentices in Mar 2020 via the PeopleXD system. Prior to that, Apprentices were paid from the FAS TAPS legacy system.
Regarding the Deputy’s question on the expenditure of each of the travel and accommodation allowances for apprentices in 2019, 2020, and 2021, the only full year figures available are from 2021 in which the total amount paid in craft allowances was €66.865m and due to the pandemic and the associated shutdown of educational and training facilities, these figures are not an accurate reflection of allowances paid to apprentices.
A breakdown of the travel and accommodation allowances for apprentices has been requested from SOLAS for the period prior to ESBS taking over the payments. It will be sent onto the Deputy as soon as it is available.
