Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 January 2023
1036. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the plans, if any, to increase the number of third level courses for urban and rural planners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63990/22]
View answerThere are a range of courses which include a focus on urban and rural planning, including courses in architecture and urban planning. In the 2021/2022 academic year, there were c. 50 relevant courses available at levels 8-10 on the National Framework for Qualifications, with student enrollments rising by over 19% since the 2017/2018 academic year. Please find attached list of programmes for further information.
Under two of the Human Capital Initiative (HCI) Pillar 3 projects Higher Education provision in Urban and Rural planning is being innovatively developed.
The TU Dublin project Resilient Design Curricula for 21st Century professionals is developing architectural education to prioritise sustainable development. All six Schools of Architecture in the Republic of Ireland have partnered on this project.
Each Higher Education Institution (HEI) partner will strengthen their academic delivery with local and city councils who are invested in sustainable planning and building in their jurisdictions. The National Planning Framework 2040 Plan with its overarching region-by-region sustainability principles places a new and clear emphasis on a series of goals such as compact cities, strengthened rural environments, increased connectivity, a focus on heritage, wellness and healthcare and a sustainable management of water, waste and other environmental resources. These are all spatial and material in nature and are typical of the subject areas architecture schools work on and the building (and planning) industry as a whole is engaged with.
There is a newly developed micro-credential in planning currently in development under the TCD "Next generation teaching and learning for the changing needs of society and industry" project. The TCD Transport Modelling and Planning micro-credential is a 12-week course.
This Department recently published a Report on the Analysis of Skills for Residential Construction and Retrofitting 2023-2030, which indicates that the annual supply of graduates at levels 7-8, with regard to planners, is broadly in line with the forecast demand for this sector. See www.gov.ie/en/publication/10ae6-report-on-the-analysis-of-skills-for-residential-construction-retrofitting-2023-to-2030/ for further details.
