Written Answers Nos. 150-161
150. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the amount that has been allocated in Budget 2024 to student accommodation; the number of units this will supply; how he will ensure the affordability of this accommodation for students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45699/23]
View answerI am actively prioritising the supply and affordability of student accommodation, in recognition of the challenges our students are facing. Through “Housing for All”, the Government has approved development of policy and provision of funding to increase the supply of purpose-built student accommodation.
Student accommodation is a capital funding allocation which will be considered as part of the National Development Plan review. It was not considered during Budget 2024. To date Government has approved up to €61 million in funding to unlock up to 1,000 additional beds in partnership with our Universities.
In tandem, the Government has introduced measures to assist our students with the cost of accommodation. I recently approved an additional €440,000 to the Student Assistance Fund (SAF) specifically targeted at students who are experiencing difficulty with the cost or availability of student accommodation.
Budget 2024 provided for an increase in the tax credit for renters not in receipt of other housing assistance to the value of €750 per renter each year to end of 2025. The aim is to put money directly back in the pockets of renters. This credit is also available in respect to rent paid in both 2022 and 2023.
Eligibility for this tax credit has been extended to parents who pay for their student children’s Rent-a-Room digs accommodation. The credit is €750 per individual and €1,500 per jointly assessed couple for 2024 and 2025. This applies retrospectively to the years 2022 and 2023.
In Budget 2024, I have introduced further measures to assist with costs including; an increase to all non-adjacent maintenance rates by €615 and adjacent maintenance rates by 10% from September 2024. I have secured a full restoration of student maintenance grants for post graduates from September 2024 for the first time since the financial crash. Eligible students will see a pro-rata increase from January 2024.
Since 2016, over 14,000 purpose built student beds have been built, with further 7,029 under construction. This year sees an additional 938 University delivered beds available, with over 2,000 private PBSA beds due for completion this autumn.
151. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science considering the chronic shortage of skilled labour, the reason he chose to reduce fees by only €1,000 and to make this only a once-off; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45700/23]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that Budget 2024 contains a package of measures to support households with the cost of living. These include a number of measures targeted at further and higher education students and their families. These include:
• A €1,000 reduction in the student contribution fee for higher education students eligible for the free fees initiative;
• An increase to the Postgraduate Fee Contribution Grant from €4000 to €5000;
• A once-off reduction of 33 per cent in the contribution fee for apprentices in higher education;
• A further €8.1 million investment in the Student Assistance Fund for the 2023/24 academic year bringing the total to over €17 million;
• Renters’ tax credit is being extended to parents who pay for student children’s rent in the case of Rent a *Room accommodation or “digs” -this change will also apply retrospectively for the years 2022 and 2023;
• The removal of Post Leaving Cert (PLC) fees from September 2024;
• An increase to all non-adjacent maintenance rates by €615 and adjacent maintenance rates by 10% from September 2024 -eligible PLC and Undergraduate students will see a pro-rata increase effective from January 2024; and
• The full restoration of student maintenance grants for post graduates from September 2024 for the first time since the financial crash. A pro-rata increase will also be effective from January 2024.
In framing this year’s budget, the Government was conscious of the cost of living challenges faced by students and their families. These challenges have primarily been driven by major external shocks such as the war in Ukraine and Covid.
Having peaked in October 2022, the downward trend in annual inflation has meant a slowing in the rate of additional pressures faced by families due to growing prices. At the same time, the continued strong performances of the labour market and domestic economy have enabled average incomes to rise. These factors have allowed the Government frame a budget, which includes a number of temporary and permanent supports, primarily aimed at offsetting the temporary effects of inflation on households and businesses. It is in this context that I was able to secure the once off €1,000 reduction in the student contribution fee for higher education students.
I have been clear that I want to see the student's contribution towards tuition fees in higher education reduce in a meaningful way and I have made significant progress in providing permanent additional student contribution supports for students.
Students may be eligible to receive supports towards paying the student contribution through the Student Grant Scheme as administered by SUSI. In in 2022/23 over 50,000 students received funding to pay the student contribution in full and paid no tuition fees.
As part of Budget 2024, with effect from September 2024, I am increasing the income threshold for students to avail of the 100% student contribution support to €55,924. This change will build on the significant changes introduced in Budget 2023 where I made changes to the Student Grant Scheme to introduce a permanent new rate of student contribution support through SUSI from September 2023.
For students whose families have incomes between €62,000 and €100,000, the new grant provides a €500 support towards the undergraduate student contribution payable by free fees eligible undergraduate students. I also increased the income limit for students to avail of the 50% student contribution grant.
These changes demonstrate my commitment to reducing the student contribution payable by students in a sustainable manner and I will continue to work through the annual Estimates process to further enhance student supports.
152. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will provide supports for non-State funded PhD students and if he will move to have their employment status recognised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45796/23]
View answerIn November 2022, I appointed Dr Andrea Johnson and Mr David Cagney to undertake an independent National Review of State Supports for PhD Researchers. This is the first time that State supports for PhD students have been considered holistically in this manner.
Of the approximately 10,000 PhD students currently enrolled across the higher education sector, 4,000 undertake their studies using private funding. The Deputy will appreciate that these students have decided to enroll in PhD programmes supported by the private funding available to them.
Under Budget 2024, I secured increased funding for the PhD stipends provided by the competitive funding agencies under my Department’s aegis, i.e. Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council, to bring the stipend to €22,000 for their roughly 3,000 awardees. This builds on the increase that I secured in Budget 2023, and demonstrates strong and substantial progress on this issue.
Because of their particular complexity, the following elements of the National Review of State Supports for PhD Researchers required further analysis by the Co-Chairs:
• Consistency and equity of approaches in how PhD researchers are supported, i.e. those coming from under-represented groups;
• The status of a PhD researcher, i.e. classification as either a student or an employee.
The Co-Chairs have now submitted their final review report and this is currently being considered by my officials and myself. An 18-month work programme to implement appropriate recommendations is under development.
153. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will provide an update on the total allocation of capital grants (devolved capital grant and the further education capital grants) to the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board in 2023; the likely allocation for 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45555/23]
View answerThe National Development Plan (NDP) published in 2021 provided clarity on Departmental capital ceilings for the period 2022 – 2025. A dedicated capital envelope was established for the Further Education and Training (FET) sector, amounting to €300m over the decade 2018-2027. Available funding has increased from €5.5 million in 2018 to €17.5 million in 2020 and a planned investment of €59.5 million in 2023.
Funding for FET capital works is distributed to the Education and Training Boards (ETBs) under a number of funding streams via established application processes, new programme calls announced in 2022 and through devolved funding programmes.
FET funding includes the Emergency Health and Safety Works Grant, to address emergency, health and safety works; the Devolved Capital Allocation which allows ETBs to address a range of small-scale projects at a local level and the Apprenticeship Fund with capital investment primarily for extensive equipment requirement for craft apprenticeships, to delivery off-the-job training in ETB training centres.
Regarding the FET Devolved Capital Grant I wish to advice of my announcement earlier this month of €5.4 million. This followed an Expression of Interest process, approved by my Department in early summer, with over 120 suitable projects identified. This approval was in addition to the annual allocation of €8 million distributed in April to the ETBs.
I wish to advise the Deputy that the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board has received €3.08 million to date from the 2023 FET capital allocation.
My Department’s overall allocation under the National Development Plan for Further Education and training in 2024 is €66m, a further significant increase on previous years.
154. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the way his Department is acting to support the workforce and talent development of Irish SMEs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45530/23]
View answerTalent development remains vital for our workforce. One of my core objectives is strengthening our skills ecosystem to ensure it has the agility and flexibility to adapt to changing priorities in the skills and workforce development landscape - including increasingly rapid, technologically driven changes in the world of work. These changes place a premium on supporting individuals and companies to make this transition.
Bodies such as SOLAS's Skills and Labour Market Research Unit and the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment have a key role in assessing and forecasting for the skills and talent needs in an economy being transformed by digitisation and the decarbonisation imperative.
The steps I have taken to confirm and reinforce the Skillnet Ireland mandate further support our goals to enhance workforce development in SMEs across the skills ecosystem. However in this space there is always a need to do more, and so in this week's Budget I announced the start of a new scheme to incentivise SMEs to participate in lifelong learning. This pilot will help employers with the cost of upskilling and reskilling staff.
This in addition to the raft of initiatives across our FET and HE ecosystem: Skills to Compete, Springboard+, and eCollege, as well as ongoing work in relation to micro-credentials, Recognition of Prior Learning and on increasing the navigability of our offering, so that enterprise and individuals can see a clear pathway to gaining the skills that they need to thrive.
155. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to outline the measures his Department is taking to expand retrofit in education and further education sectors; how many retrofits have been completed in the further and higher education sector in 2020, 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023; what the target is for 2024 and 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45222/23]
View answerAn Energy Efficiency and Decarbonisation Pathfinder Programme (EEDPP) in Higher Education was first introduced in 2020 and is co-funded by my Department and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) under Project Ireland 2040, and administered through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and Higher Education Authority (HEA). The purpose of the programme is to test and demonstrate energy retrofit approaches, build scale, and inform key stakeholders.
A first round of the Programme fund of up to €5.9 million (co-funded by DECC ) was approved in the initial phase. Approved projects under this phase have been progressed through various stages of design, planning and construction. Seven projects are now complete - three completed in 2022 and four completed in 2023.
A second phase of the EEDPP HE (Higher Education) was agreed in 2021. A Programme fund of up to €22 million (co-funded by DECC ) was approved in this phase. The EEDPP 2021 (HE) aimed to consolidate the learnings from EEDPP 2020 and build on the solutions or pathways identified in the ‘Higher Education Decarbonisation Pathways’ Report. The programme made funding available for six pathways identified in the report with the aim of assisting key stakeholders to better understand how these pathways might be undertaken. Under the EEDPP 2021, HEIs were invited to submit proposals for retrofit works to existing buildings, which were in line with the pathways identified in the HEA Decarbonisation Report. Eight projects were successful under EEDPP 2021 – one was completed in 2023, and three are at construction stage ( two with an expected completion date of 2023 and one with an expected completion date of 2024) and the remainder are at procurement and implementation stage with an expected completion date of 2024.
A new round of the EEDPP is now being progressed in HE in 2023. A Programme fund of up to €26 million (co-funded by the DECC ) was approved in this phase. A call for proposals process was undertaken by the HEA, who subsequently submitted an evaluation report to the Department and the SEAI. Deliberations between all the parties to the agreed funding process have been on-going, however it is expected the outcome of this stage of the process will be notified shortly to the HEIs that applied for funding under this scheme.
With regard to the Further Education sector DFHERIS, SEAI and SOLAS are currently in the planning phase of delivering an Energy Efficiency and Decarbonisation Pathfinder Programme for further education and training. I look forward to making an announcement on this capital investment programme in the near future.
The programme in FET will expand on the body of knowledge, which has been built through previous rounds of EEDPP in Higher Education, and on lessons learned from Pathfinder programmes across the public service. The roll-out of funding under this programme on a phased basis enables a pipeline of projects over the period 2024 and 2025 and the learnings from earlier phases can feed into new phases.
Using Devolved Grant 2023 funding, the further and higher education sectors may of course separately opt, subject to defined expenditure limits, to directly invest in retrofit works to their buildings.
156. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will consider in fast-tracking SOLAS apprentice applications to shorten the backlog of apprentices in college; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45804/23]
View answerAt the end of September, there were 5,194 apprentices waiting longer than the required six months at Phase 2, 99 at Phase 4, and 52 at Phase 6. These waiting times reflect the strong growth in registrations for craft apprenticeship in a demand-led system, where employers in a buoyant construction sector are continuing to recruit strongly to meet their future skill needs. Craft apprenticeship registrations for 2022 and 2021 were in total 13,254, an increase of almost 40% over the preceding two years.
The strength of the construction sector is also impacting adversely on the education and training system's ability to recruit additional instructors required to meet apprenticeship training need. A planned upcoming national recruitment campaign for instructors will be central to the delivery by ETBs of this additional capacity including through a third intake of apprentices each year.
The persistence of significant backlogs in apprenticeship training is a serious cause of concern to me. I therefore prioritised apprenticeship in the recent Estimates resulting in a €67m investment into the apprenticeship system. This will enable growth in the craft apprenticeship training system from 13,000 in 2022 to over 16,000 places in 2024 - an increase approaching 25%. SOLAS, the National Apprenticeship Office and the ETBs, together with staff representatives, are continuing to work intensively with my Department to deliver the required additional apprenticeship training capacity to secure the reductions in waiting time in particular for phase 2 training.
157. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his Department is partaking in any work to assess the difficulty and accessibility of the SUSI application process; and if he will consider making the process easier to complete for applicants. [45745/23]
View answerThe Student Grant Scheme is administered by the centralised national grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) on behalf of my Department.
SUSI regularly reviews their systems, processes and service to identify improvements in service delivery and have made significant strides in this regard in recent years, through for example the development of an online student portal and a centralised online system for the swift and consistent assessment of grant applications. Continuous improvements (outlined in more detail below) have contributed to SUSI’s ability to meet and exceed the key performance indicators within the Management Framework Agreement (MFA) with my Department. In the academic year 2022/23, the mean time for the initial assessment of an application was within two weeks, and within one week for the assessment of returned documentation.
All applications are made online at susi.ie, where a student creates a SUSI account giving them access to their SUSI student portal, where they have access to detailed help notes to assist them. The SUSI Support Desk can also be accessed via phone, email or social media at any point during the application process. SUSI’s Access Officers are also on hand to provide assistance and guidance to persons with disabilities by way of a direct point of contact for the applicant.
Data sharing agreements with government bodies such as the Department of Social Protection, Revenue Commissioners and CAO have supported the delivery of a streamlined application process and have reduced the need for students to send documentation to SUSI. The launch of SUSI’s new website in January 2023 has also driven awareness of student funding by giving students access to key information and the addition of the eligibility indicator means students can quickly check if they might be eligible for funding.
SUSI run a comprehensive annual stakeholder programme to help build their stakeholders’ understanding of the grant system. This is offered to guidance counsellors, Citizens Information representatives, HEI Access Officers, TUSLA Aftercare Managers and St. Vincent de Paul representatives. Almost 300 stakeholders participated in the training for academic year 23/24.
SUSI also hosts an annual virtual Information Event, enabling them to connect directly with the public, students and stakeholders. The event offers attendees information on the eligibility criteria and application process as well as the chance to ask questions through a private chat facility. The event is recorded and published on the website for those who were unable to join on the day. Over 330 people attended the event for 23/24.
My Department is committed to continually reviewing the Scheme with a view to further enhancing it and working with SUSI to ensure that it is as accessible as possible for all students.
158. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide an update on current and future development plans for the Drogheda Institute for Further Education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45543/23]
View answerLouth Meath ETB (LMETB) put forward a proposal under the Strategic Infrastructure Upgrade Fund (SIUF), which I announced in February 2022, for multipurpose tertiary facilities for Drogheda Institute for Further Education (DIFE).
The primary purpose of the SIUF is to support ETB capital projects that will upgrade existing FET infrastructure and provide a high quality teaching and learning environment, aligned with the principles of the FET College of the Future. The SIUF projects will transform the FET learner experience and will contribute to making the FET College of the Future a reality.
Under the SIUF a total of 19 projects have been approved for appointment of a design team, 13 of which were approved in 2022 and the final six announced in recent weeks.
The Brief Validation meeting for LMETB’s project at DIFE was held earlier this year, in May, and the project is currently with the ETB for next steps.
In addition to the SIUF, in July 2023, DIFE, Dublin City University (DCU) and LMETB announced a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This MoU signals the DIFE and DCU’s commitment to working together to deliver a number of HET to HE pathways.
159. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if Atlantic Technological University, Sligo has been approved for purpose-built student accommodation funded by his Department; if he will outline the process of a Higher Education Institution receiving approval to build student accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45638/23]
View answerIn recognition of the need to increase the supply of student accommodation, my Department is developing policy responses to stimulate the development of new and additional student accommodation for public higher education institutions. This landmark policy response will, for the first time, see the State providing financial support in the construction of student accommodation, and underpins the policy commitments set out in Housing for All.
Investment of €1m in 2023/2024 is being provided through the Higher Education Authority (HEA) to assist our Technological Universities (TUs) including the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) to undertake a needs assessment for student accommodation in key regional areas. This will include data led projections of demand for accommodation and a framework to respond to needs in each area.
Department officials and I have had continuous engagement with the sector in relation to the feasibility study. The Higher Education Authority (HEA) are finalising work programme one of this study which included an initial survey and extensive data gathering exercise, to provide the basis for supply and demand analysis and projections for student accommodation in key regional areas.
The supplementary work programme of this study will commence imminently to design and assess a framework for student accommodation for the TU sector. I would like to thank the TU sector for their engagement to date and recognise the importance of their continued co-operation in ensuring the success of this response framework.
The output of the TU Feasibility Study will inform our long term policy for student accommodation which I intend to bring to Government in Q4, 2023.
The Housing Finance Agency Act 1981, as amended, facilitates lending by the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) to institutions of higher education, including TUs. My Department and I are working with relevant Government Departments and Agencies to explore the development of a specific borrowing framework for TU sector as one of a range of possible mechanisms to address increased supply of student accommodation.
It is anticipated that any borrowing framework would in the first instance prioritise the provision of student accommodation in line with commitments in the Government's Housing for All plan.
160. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will ensure that the €1,000 reduction in the student contribution fees for higher education students as announced in Budget 2024 is applied to students studying outside this State, such as Northern Ireland and Britain; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45537/23]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that Budget 2024 contains a package of measures to support households with the cost of living.
These cost of living measures include a €1,000 reduction in the student contribution fee for higher education students applies to those students who are eligible for the free fees initiative which operates within the State.
Under the Free Fees Initiative (FFI), the State provides funding, exclusive of the student contribution, toward the tuition fee costs of eligible undergraduate higher education students who are pursuing approved full-time undergraduate courses of study in an approved higher education institution in the State. The student contribution only applies in circumstances where a student is eligible for free fees, it is the students’ contribution towards their tuition fee within the terms of the FFI.
Where students are not eligible for free fees then, the student contribution arrangements under the FFI do not apply and students pay the applicable tuition fee to the higher education institution attended. In this regard, the once off student contribution support of €1,000 in 2023/24 cannot apply to students undertaking study in other jurisdictions.
161. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide an update on progress with regard to (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45079/23]
View answerI thank the Deputy for raising this question. The Deputy will be aware that late last year I was very happy to announce that Dublin Dun Laoghaire ETBs (DDLETB) proposal for Fingal/Swords under the FET College of the Future Major Projects fund was successful at the first stage of the assessment process.
The proposal put forward by DDLETB is to transform FET provision in the area by adding a 1,000-place college and enabling an additional 6,000 beneficiaries of FET annually in the region to drive its economic growth and social development.
This proposal is now at the next stage of development, which involves the development of a preliminary business case which is a fundamental part of the public spending code requirements.
The original date for receipt by SOLAS of the preliminary business case submissions was the 30th of September, however ETBs sought additional time and now have until the 12th of January 2024 to submit their completed preliminary business cases.
The site preference for the Fingal College of Further Education and Training is Swords due to its population base and future growth projections. In that respect, officials from my Department are meeting SOLAS, DDLETB and the Local Authority in November to look at potential site options for the proposed college.
I would also like to make the Deputy aware, that last year I also approved the appointment of a design team for another key proposal put forward by DDLETB in Clondalkin under the Strategic Infrastructure Upgrade Fund. This investment will support the removal of temporary accommodation, the provision of new accommodation and the remediation of the existing building at their FET Centre in Clondalkin.
Capital investment in the FET Sector remains a key priority for me and for my department and I recognise the importance of developing infrastructure to support the FET sector to provide high quality campuses for our learners and teaching staff.
