Vol. 1033 No. 3
58. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to clarify the process by which chairs of the review into PhD conditions were selected; and to provide details of the remuneration awarded to chairs. [6933/23]
Will the Minister clarify the process by which chairs of the review into PhD conditions were selected and provide details of the remuneration awarded to the chairs?
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I acknowledge he was one of the people most strongly agitating and advocating for a review into PhD conditions and I am pleased that is under way. The purpose of the review of PhD supports is to contribute to the development of a set of national guidelines for supports for PhD researchers that fosters a consistent standard of experience. That lack of consistency is something about which I hear a lot of frustration from PhD researchers. This is a key commitment in Impact 2030, the national strategy for research and innovation published in May last year. About 11,000 people are undertaking PhD studies in Ireland at any time. In the context of the cost-of-living crisis, there was an urgent need to bring forward the implementation of that commitment in order that PhD supports would be fit for purpose. The review will build on the previous work on reforms in the tertiary education and research system, including the national doctoral framework, student supports and the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda.
Officials in my Department identified a shortlist of persons with the appropriate high-level experience to oversee the review. The experience identified as most appropriate included talent and skills management, research careers, high-level skills development and human resource management, industrial relations and public service management. People were then approached to see whether they would be willing to serve in that role, noting the urgency in establishing the review. Mr. David Cagney, recently retired as assistant secretary and head of Civil Service HR in the then Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, and Dr. Andrea Johnson, vice president of Workhuman and chairperson of Women in Technology and Science, both agreed to serve.
I was very pleased with the calibre of these individuals. I felt that having one person with significant experience in human resources and the Civil Service who understands the system, as well as a strong and powerful female leader in the area of women in technology, science and research, was a good balance, with one person who is used to the system and another who is used to research, and with one person who is male and another who is female, and with both them having qualities in a variety of other areas.
In line with established procedure, my Department obtained sanction from the then Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to pay each co-chair a per diem rate of €200 for up to ten days for their work on the review. There is no salary, therefore, but rather expenses of up to €200 capped at ten days per year. I am delighted that two so highly qualified people as Mr. Cagney and Dr. Johnson agreed to conduct this review urgently and at an extraordinarily modest cost, having regard to the importance of the review.
My intention in tabling the question was to find out facts, so I do not really have anything to debate, although I do have a request. Will the Minister engage with the chairs to see whether they will meet the soon-to-be-formed postgraduate workers’ organisation as the body that will represent PhD researchers? If the Minister has not met representatives of an earlier iteration of this group, I strongly suggest he do so. They are an incredibly engaged, active and willing people who are seeking to broaden and expand who gets access to research, especially among postgraduates such as PhD students, which has, regrettably, tended to be an exclusive domain. Widening that franchise will be very important in getting the most out of research in this country in a way that will benefit all of us.
I thank Deputy Gannon for raising this important topic. Will a more formal consultation process take place later in the review process and include the stakeholder engagement? We are concerned that at the moment, it is more of a scoping exercise without a consultation paper and that submissions are not actively being sought. I join Deputy Gannon in urging the Minister to request the chairs of the review into PhD conditions to contact the postgraduate workers’ organisation, when it is formed, and meet it as the body that will represent PhD researchers? It is awfully important that there be proper consultation and that the Minister meet with that group, which will be highly co-ordinated and active on this and will know what needs to be done.
To be crystal clear, one of the first acts of the chairs will be to meet with those groups. I will have to check if I have met that group but I have met postgraduate representatives from the Union of Students in Ireland, USI, and a group of postgraduate researchers from Trinity College Dublin who made a strong and compelling case about the need. I am meeting the co-chairs next week. The first item on our agenda will be to discuss their engagement with the representative bodies for our PhD researchers. I have no difficulty meeting that group. I am very happy to do so. It is most important we get them meeting the co-chairs because I want this work to be done, done well and for them to have confidence in it. As people know, the scope of the review includes current PhD research supports, including financial supports, stipends, SUSI supports and others; the adequacy, consistency and equity of current arrangements across research funders and higher education institutions, including equity and welfare considerations, the status of PhD researchers, whether student or employee, and a review of international comparators and models; the impact on funding of research supports of any adjustment to current supports; graduate outcomes; and visa requirements and duration for non-EU students. The review will look at issues of adequacy, taking account of cost and other issues. This is a very important piece of work with quite broad terms of reference. The engagement will happen and they will be formally written to very shortly to confirm that.
60. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the steps he has taken to ensure adequate capacity within higher education institutions for students wishing to study veterinary medicine. [6868/23]
Further to Deputy Conway-Walsh's priority question, what steps the Minister has taken to ensure we have adequate capacity within higher education institutions for students who wish to study veterinary medicine considering that huge numbers of Irish young people are currently forced to go abroad? Will he give some further detail on the steps to ensure there will be accreditation for students emerging from any of our institutions, particularly north of the Border and in Britain?
I thank Deputy Carthy for his question and note his interest in it as an agricultural spokesperson. I want to get this right. I recognise there are two issues my Department must oversee. One is to make sure there are enough places to meet demand in the country. We have identified veterinary, dentistry, nursing and medicine as areas in which we wish to expand the number of places. We must also ensure, separate and distinct from that, that the number of Irish students who have to go abroad is reduced. I could never understand how there was a scenario in this country where official Ireland would say we had enough spaces when every year all these students found themselves having to go abroad. We only had one university in Ireland providing veterinary medicine. It does it very well and it is very sought after but there is only one.
The purpose is to scope out what higher education institutions could offer were they funded to do so. The existing number of places could be increased, and it would be entirely appropriate for an existing school to come forward and say it could do more, or there could be additional schools, or there could be both. There seems to be quite a lot of interest in this. There is also quite a lot of talk among vets about this and a real sense we could see at least one new veterinary school established. There is also a lot of regional interest in this. There are different views, as there will be among any group, as to who should house the new school or schools if they are to come about. The process we have put in place is robust and external to me. An external body has been set up through the Higher Education Authority, HEA, that includes the Chief Veterinary Officer and the Veterinary Council of Ireland. I hope that gives the Deputy confidence. I am not qualified to determine the most appropriate veterinary medicine courses nor is my Department. We listen to the regulators and the professional bodies on that just like we listen to the Chief Medical Officer on medicine places or the Chief Nursing Officer on nursing places.
On Northern Ireland, I and Deputy Conway-Walsh have done quite a bit about how we can continue to develop third level education on an all-island basis. We want to see that happen. It simply makes sense. I am satisfied, through the note given to me, that any programme deemed viable by the HEA will be subject to Veterinary Council of Ireland accreditation processes. EU Directive 2005/36/EC, which provides for the mutual recognition of qualifications of a range of professions, including vets, would ensure anyone who qualifies in a programme here has their qualification and registration recognised in Northern Ireland, the UK, Europe and some other jurisdictions.
The Minister is correct. I have a set of figures, I think for 2022 but it may be for 2021, which show that just 30% of newly registered vets in Ireland pursued their studies in Ireland and that 70% came from elsewhere. Frankly, we need to flip that on its head. We could and should become a world leader in veterinary practice considering the excellent family farm model for which we are renowned and, for that matter, the great effort put in across the agrifood sector, which holds a dominant place within the Irish economy and society. Nobody is questioning any of the membership of the expert panel. I am asking for clarification on whether the expert panel has sought interaction from international accreditation experts because what we want to do is make sure people qualify in Ireland as vets and that accreditation is recognised as far and wide as possible.
Here I am again with the vets. At this stage, I have probably spoken to the vast majority of vets from across the island. They obviously want to get this right, as do I. I come from a farming community along the western seaboard and we have long wanted a veterinary school there. It makes sense. It does concern me when the Minister speaks of an extension of what is already there because we, in particular, have a shortage of vets for large animals that needs to be catered for. It is not like putting on any other course. It is a school that has to have the full capacity to deliver what we need in terms of veterinary. I ask the Minister to bear that in mind. I reiterate the need for an all-island approach to this. I welcome that the Minister is supportive of that. Were there an institute here in collaboration with one of the institutes in the North, would the Minister be willing to explore and support that?
I thank the Minister and thank Deputy Carthy for tabling the question, and I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh, who has led out on this and had a priority question earlier. I come from a rural county but it is also a Border county. The two are very important when we look at this issue because there is a question of geography and access to veterinary services. We know in the evaluation that was carried out that it is the counties down the west coast - Donegal, Galway, Mayo and Kerry - that have the highest concentration of herd numbers without a veterinary practice within 20 km. It is encouraging that a number of universities have shown interest in the expression of interest that was submitted last year, but particularly the Atlantic Technological University, ATU, is one which covers the area where there is an issue with access to veterinary practice. The accreditation and recognition on an all-island basis is crucial because vets operate in one field one minute and in the next minute, they are across the Border. It needs to be internationally recognised. It needs to be all-island recognised and therefore the accreditation has to be accepted by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as well. We need to get that right at the very start.
I am delighted to see such an interest in veterinary medicine because, a year ago, Deputy Conway-Walsh and I were being told there were an adequate number of places, and that never felt right to any of us. That is not the position now. We are doing this scoping exercise. There will, I believe, be at least one new veterinary school at the end of this. I do not want to pre-empt the process. I have to keep neutral and external to the process going on, but the point that Deputy Doherty and others make about the regional aspect is very important. In the criteria and in the issues the institutions were asked to outline, the regional impact was one because the Deputies are right in that it is more of an issue in certain parts of the country than others and it is more of an issue with certain types of animals than others. I assure people on accreditation that the competent authority is not my Department but the Veterinary Council of Ireland. It is on the board. It is on the panel. I am not. It will have to be satisfied through its accreditation process on an all-island approach. We are about to do that with medicine and there is no reason there would not be a wish to collaborate between North and South. We would be only too delighted to consider that.
On workforce planning, it is for the line Department to workforce plan, so to speak. How many vets and how many veterinary places are needed in Ireland are matters for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It will come to us and we then try to provide the places. It is the same in health and any other area.
Earlier today, we discussed legislation that could lead to a greater workload on vets. That alone has created a particular amount of unease. I welcome the Minister's assurances on all-Ireland accreditation.
The reason we have brought this matter to his attention is because concerns have been raised with us. Veterinary Council of Ireland accreditation is the base line. It would be senseless to consider having a veterinary college which did not deliver that, but there are different levels of accreditation. The top universities in the world, when providing accredited courses, try to ensure that accreditation is recognised as far as possible. Within the EU, Veterinary Council of Ireland accreditation is recognised. The Minister mentioned the North in the context of the protocol. However, we would also like this accreditation to be recognised across the water. Large numbers of Irish veterinary students traditionally spend a year or two in places like Canada, the United States and Australia. This means that the wider the reach of the accreditation, the more valuable the course becomes and the more esteem the qualification holds.
I welcome the Minister’s indications, but I urge him to keep a close eye on this and ensure that, as Deputy Doherty stated, we do not drop the ball.
I do not disagree with what the Deputy said. I referenced the EU directive in the context of mutual recognition of qualifications. I am happy to check for the Deputy, but I understand that an accredited place through the Veterinary Council of Ireland is recognised in the North, the UK and the EU, as well as in some other jurisdictions. I can seek clarity on the latter for the Deputy.
The process of looking at what is possible is external to me, as should be the case. Nobody wants me to decide what is appropriate for veterinary medicine. We have the chief vet, the Veterinary Council of Ireland and the HEA. My approach is to let them do their thing. I met the CEO of the HEA recently and conveyed that to him. A report will come to me in March and the matter will then be back in my space. I am happy to engage with the Deputy and his party colleague and spokesperson, Deputy Conway-Walsh, on making sure we get it right. The exercise between now and March is to ascertain what is possible, what the institutions are telling us and what the expert panel believes is best from what it has heard around the country. I am taken by the importance of that regional piece as well.
61. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the progress that has been made in working with higher education institutions to ensure that more accommodation is built on and off campus, as set down in the programme for Government, through the use of cost-rental and other models; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6916/23]
Year after year, students face a difficult task when seeking to secure accommodation. Competition is fierce at times and it can be extremely difficult to secure suitable places to live. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to increase the number of accommodation units for students across third level colleges and universities. Will the Minister provide an update on the number of units delivered to date?
I thank the Deputy for raising this matter repeatedly and for keeping in touch with me in respect of it. I am working actively to address the difficulties faced by students in accessing affordable student accommodation.
In recognition of the real challenge, including rising construction costs and the impact of same on the affordability of accommodation, I received Government approval on 29 November last to, for the first time ever, invest taxpayer funds in helping to build student accommodation. As the Deputy will know, because we have discussed the matter before, a number of projects were stalled which had active planning permission in five universities, UCD, DCU, Maynooth, Limerick and Galway. Trinity has got planning permission recently, so that is six. In November I got the go-ahead in relation to three, namely, Maynooth, Galway and Limerick, to provide part State funding to get those projects moving again. I have had extremely intensive direct engagements over the last couple of weeks with the presidents of UCD and DCU, separately, and their teams to try to move those projects on. I hope to be in a position to update Government on that shortly. Trinity will be engaging with them now that they have planning permission.
I know the Deputy’s heart and mind lies in the regions and how we can bring student accommodation into them. We also, on 29 November, made the decision to allocate seed funding, if I can call it that, of €1 million to the technological university sector to begin to develop its own plans. With the exception of Waterford - I see Deputy Ó Cathasaigh is here - there has not been a technological university or institution of technology that has built student accommodation. That is not a criticism. That is the way the rules were at the time. We need them to be able to bring in expertise, probably externally, to get a view as to what is possible.
I expect to shortly be in a position to outline how that €1 million will be used in a structured way. It is most likely to be used to provide a central external resource of expertise that could help all technological universities because there are probably synergies between them. I am happy to keep the Deputy updated on that.
I thank the Minister for his reply. We are all aware of cases where student accommodation fails to meet the quality standards in many areas. Many students have reported poor living conditions, inadequate heating and ventilation, mould and damp. We need to ensure we have modern suitable accommodation. We need to look to provide such accommodation in a structured manner.
I encourage the adaptive reuse model, which involves converting existing buildings into student accommodation. Croí Cónaithe is an important vehicle for that in rural and urban areas, but we should be utilising it in the rental market. I hope that, in time, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, will look at that option. Co-living spaces have become increasingly popular among students. That is an important step forward.
Will the Minister provide an update on any public private partnerships that can help drive the delivery of student accommodation by, as he mentioned, leveraging on expertise and resources in the public and private sectors to deliver at scale and get beyond the point where, year after year, students are in real competition when the CAO offers are made?
The Minister will not be surprised to see me coming in on this. He rightly referenced that Waterford has built on-campus student accommodation. There has been welcome Government interventions on student accommodation, particularly in the case of technological universities, which will be allowed to borrow in order to fund student accommodation for the first time. However, it means we are a little behind. The pipeline the Minister referenced consists wholly of universities that are in train. In the context of South East Technological University, and, I am sure, ATU and Technological University of the Shannon, we want to see increased numbers of students coming on campus. To allow that to happen, which we need to increase the amount of accommodation available. In my constituency, constructing purpose-built accommodation and expanding the footprint into the campus will be pivotal.
I agree fully with both Deputies. I assure Deputy Dillon that the structured approach makes sense. If there are synergies and we know there is a model that can work for the technological university and get things moving, let us not waste time coming up with a load of different models. You notice when you drive around the country, many new schools are beginning to look the same. That is because the Department of Education got it right and that saves time in the roll-out. Nothing is off the table in terms of the modality used. In Galway, for example, they will be long-term renting some; in Maynooth, they will be direct building. It will be whatever it takes to increase supply with affordability being a key ask and interest of ours.
On Deputy Ó Cathasaigh's point, I met all the chairs of the technological universities in Leinster House in the last month. The chair of the South East Technological University was there. I said to him - and I am sure he will not mind me sharing this – that I want him to keep me under pressure, to say they have all these student accommodation projects in technological universities ready to rock and ask why we have not funded it yet. We are not at that point yet. I have said clearly to others we need them coming up with plans and demanding the Government funds them. We will not be found wanting in helping to get them off the ground but we need the planning to be done first. The reason the universities are going first is not a preference for them, but that they have the planning. We need the plans in place and the €1 million is about trying to enable that.
I know the Minister is deeply committed to delivering increased numbers of student accommodation. It is crucial we get careful planning and management to ensure such student accommodation is fit for purpose, meets the needs and is supported by ample public transport. Rental prices are at an all-time high and it is making it extremely difficult for students.
I encourage that the application that was submitted by ATU for the old military barracks in Castlebar be given careful consideration. It is a vacant barracks in the centre of Castlebar and would make an enormous contribution to the town centre. That money should be invested in such projects to entice people into the area and support ATU and its offerings.
I assure the Deputy that I will inquire into the position regarding the old military barracks site in Castlebar to see what the position is and establish if progress can be made. I will familiarise myself further with the matter. He mentioned it to me previously. I will get the view of ATU and the Department. I will be happy to revert to the Deputy on the matter.
The Government will continue to do everything we can to increase supply but we are also looking at different ways in terms of helping with affordability. Of course, the actual cost of rent is one way of helping with affordability. So, too, are increased student grants, reducing registration fees and increasing the student assistance fund. We will look at many different ways of how we can reduce the pressures of the cost of education on students and their families.
Question No. 62 was originally in the name of Deputy Stanton but has been transferred to Deputy Dillon.
62. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his plans, if any, to make changes to the SUSI grant eligibility criteria; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6899/23]
The Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grant can make a significant difference in the lives of students who receive it. Can the Minister provide an outline of proposed changes to the eligibility criteria to expand the grant to eligible students?
Over the past number of years, I have delivered a range of enhancements to the student support scheme to better meet the needs of students and families, and it is only right and proper that we do. Over the course of the past three budgets and, in addition, separate and distinct from the one-off cost of living measures, I have significantly increased the rate of the grant, with the most recent improvements taking effect last month. I have increased the income limit for students availing of the 50% undergraduate student contribution. I introduced a new student contribution grant reducing the student contribution to be paid by €500 for qualifying families on incomes of between €62,000 and €100,000. This will provide support to between 40,000 and 50,000 students who would not previously have been eligible for SUSI or State support.
We have introduced a new rental income disregard of up to €14,000 to support the rent-a-room relief scheme of which many students are availing. We increased the deduction allowable for student earnings outside of term time from €4,500 to €6,552. We reduced the period for a break in studies from five years to three years for second-chance mature students. We have increased the income thresholds to qualify for the standard rate of student grant, reduced the qualifying distance for the non-adjacent rate of grant from 45 km to 30 km and enhanced postgraduate supports.
As I did for the first time last year, it is my intention to publish a cost of education options paper, which will set out options for further enhancement of student supports for consideration as part of the budgetary process in the autumn. This is quite a good process. The Department of Social Welfare has been doing it on tax for years. We need to put the options out early. I accept that the budget was moved forward earlier last year so I would like to give people a little more time this year. We need to put out all the options and cost them at Government then let the Opposition, the public and students see the menu of options on how we reduce the cost of education. We have taken measures, however. Since my Department was established - we did not have a Department in this space before - we have taken very concrete actions to try to improve and overhaul the SUSI grant scheme. I would be the first to say we have much more to do in this space in terms of fees and grants. I intend to do more in the next budget.
I thank the Minister for his response. We are all aware in this House of the importance of the SUSI grant and its role in enabling students to pursue their educational and career goals. It is an important element whereby students can have access to basic necessities in our current cost-of-living crisis around food, housing and healthcare. Certainly, it reduces the financial burden on many people and provides access to education, which is crucially important. The Minister has made significant strides to date with regard to expanding additional students into the scheme. Up to 50,000 students now have access to the SUSI grant. What priorities is the Minister making at present in terms of the review process? What will the timeline be with regard to the current review that is being undertaken?
I wish to raise with the Minister the issue of the special rate of SUSI. There have been adjustments in the social welfare payments and cost-of-living measures. We have not seen a corresponding increase in the threshold for the special rate, however. Can the Minister assure anxious parents and students that no one will lose out on the special rate of SUSI as a result of any social welfare payment increases or the cost-of-living supports? That would go a long way towards reassuring people.
People are really struggling. The problem, as with every year, is that SUSI does not always reflect the financial reality of what is going on in households in terms of the money that is available or the students and families who miss out because they just miss the threshold. If the Minister could reassure those people on the special rate, it would go some way to helping families.
I will say to Deputy Dillon that there are a number of areas in which I want to make progress. There are three in particular, one of which we discussed earlier regarding the income disregard for a student who is working a shift in a pub or hotel at the weekend and who is worried about losing his or her grant. That is something logical on which we can move fairly swiftly.
The second issue is part-time students. I am frustrated about this and want to get it resolved. I have been very clear in relation to this. I have spoken to Professor Tom Collins, who is doing a very good job of chairing a group that is doing some work on this. This is an area on which I want to move and I believe there is unanimity across the House in that regard.
The third area is the income threshold piece. We need to make sure that as incomes rise, which they are doing in Ireland, people can continue to access student supports. We have increased them in recent years. We need to do more. Those three areas are not exclusive or exhaustive but they are three areas in which we can make progress.
Deputy Conway-Walsh's question is important. We have always adopted the approach that when a person gets a social welfare rate increase, we must make sure it does not have a knock-on effect in losing another one. As the Deputy knows, SUSI is retrospective in that it goes back a year. I will be working to make sure there is no fall-out of the special rate as a result of someone getting a social welfare increase. It will be a matter for the Estimates formally but that has always been a tradition we have taken.
I welcome the Minister's comments with regard to the income thresholds. That is a significant barrier for many applicants. I also suggest broadening the types of courses for applicants to make applications towards their eligibility. Simplifying the application process and reducing the paperwork involved would encourage more students to apply. We are inundated in our office at times with regard to the amount of paperwork that is needed. Certainly, however, that is an area that may be advantageous for people who are making applications.
I will certainly reflect on the issue of paperwork and accessibility and so forth. As the Deputy acknowledged, SUSI staff are working extremely hard as they deal with a huge volume of applications and queries. I will talk to them to make sure it is as user-friendly a system as possible.
With regard to that issue of broadening the types of courses that qualify, my first intention would be part-time courses because there will be many students, including some the Deputy would know in Atlantic Technological University, who may wish to or have to study part-time for a whole variety of reasons. They will still end up with the same qualifications but they are doing it in a different way. If that is the starting point, there are a whole variety of part-time courses. However, I am talking about students who end up with the same qualification they would have received if they did it full time but did it part-time because they are perhaps holding down a job, caring for a relative or child or have a disability and that way was just not best for them. That is the area in which I would like to move. I am in agreement with the Deputy on that.
63. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide an update on student accommodation projects at advanced stages of planning that remain undeveloped due to a lack of agreement on Government support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6950/23]
I will go back to where we are with accommodation for college students. The Minister announced towards the end of last year that funding had been released for 667 of the 3,000 remaining undeveloped sites. I accept that he said earlier to Deputy Conway-Walsh that he met with representatives from these colleges. When can we see progress on this? Dublin City University, DCU, has planning permission for 990 additional beds. That has been the case since 2019. Can the Minister make a statement on that?
I can indeed. I thank Deputy Browne for the question. I will not go through the formal answer because he has heard some of it already. With regard to a straight question regarding DCU, this is something on which I hope to be in a position to make progress within a matter of weeks. I do not want to pre-empt conversations we are having with DCU or get ahead of myself but I acknowledge the really intensive and excellent way DCU has been engaging with my Department. There has been a real collaborative approach. There are many issues here, not just for DCU but in general in trying to ensure we comply with state aid rules and get a mechanism that works with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform.
Crucially, however, we are in a housing emergency. We need to increase housing supply in general. Where universities have planning permissions, I want to get on and build. We want to help them. I am hoping to be in a position to update Cabinet on this very shortly.
I appreciate the Minister's response but the plan is a stopgap measure that still falls way short. Like I said, 667 out of 3,000 is a start but it is still does not come anywhere near what is actually needed in places like Waterford, Cork and Dublin. They have been left out of it. We are seeing the consequence of decades of underinvestment and now demand is outstripping supply.
At least it is now being recognised that the strategy needs to change and bring all affordable student accommodation back into it because college accommodation has always been the right approach. I do not believe anybody will say any different. These places have the land, they have the capacity, and it seems they have the willingness to deliver on the student accommodation. We need the Minister to move on this. He stated earlier that he is waiting for them to come back with plans and that he will move then. Perhaps the Minister needs to put a bit of fire under some of these places to start getting back onto it as quickly as possible.
I assure the Deputy that I have been willing but in fairness to them, I also wish to acknowledge they are up for it too. In fairness to our universities and our technological universities, a lot of them are chomping at the bit to make progress on this. They are all at different stages, which is just a statement of fact and not a value judgment. The six traditional universities have planning permissions and they want to get on with it and we want them to get on with it. We are trying to free them up to move on, including universities in the Deputy's county, which is now a university county. The Deputy now has university campuses in his county for the first time. We want people locally from Tipperary to be able to go to university in Tipperary and in due course we also want people to come to Tipperary who want to learn there because they like that course or because that university works for them. To do that we need to be able to develop student accommodation whether it is there or in Ennis, which is in Deputy Carey's constituency. We have the €1 million that we received in November, which we want to use as seed funding. We want the technological universities to get their plans in order, bring in their expertise, tell us what they can do in Tipperary, Ennis or Castlebar, and then get on with it.
If we assist with the students' rental situation the Minister will also assist with the wider problem, to some extent by taking the pressure off it. By its very nature, however, this kind of accommodation must be affordable. I am not talking about providing some affordable accommodation or restricting it to SUSI recipients. I am referring to all beds being offered at an affordable rates. Reference was made earlier to this. I am aware the Minister has said that it is not his Department but there is also confusion on the matter in the Revenue website. It states the number of conditions for the tax credit on accommodation where one pays the rent, including that "The property must be used by your child specifically to facilitate his or her attendance at an approved course." The same web pages state:
In certain cases, the Rent Tax Credit applies for tenancies which do not need to be registered with the RTB. This includes 'rent-a-room' or 'digs' type arrangements.
I know of families, and I have no doubt but that many Members in the House also know of such families, that are paying €1,000, €1,100 or €1,200. I was contacted by one family yesterday that has two children going to college. They are paying €1,200, but because of the anomaly in the Revenue criteria, they will not get anything. It perhaps comes back to the SUSI situation where students cannot work themselves to get a few euro. The parents are caught. Now they are being caught again for that €1,100 or €1,200 per month in rent. That needs to be looked at.
I refer to a reply to a previous parliamentary question on the same issue so I can give the Deputy accurate information. In response to a question to the Minister for Finance on the rent credit, the reply said:
The intention is that, in order for a person to be in a position to claim the credit in a year:
- the rent paid must be in respect of the person’s principal private residence,
- the person living in the rented property themselves, or their spouse/civil partner, must have paid the rent and sufficient tax to avail of the credit,
- the tenancy must be registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) but only where this is already a legal requirement.
Tenants in the rent-a-room scheme and in student accommodation will also be able to claim the tax credit, subject to compliance with bullet points one and two above.
It does not say bullet point No. 3. My understanding of this has always been that a student in student accommodation could claim it and the student in the rent-a-room scheme could claim it, and that any student in another accommodation would have to be registered with the RTB. That is how I read the parliamentary question.
Can the parents claim it for the student?
Where the parent is paying the rent the parent can claim it but the property must be registered with the RTB.
The renters are being punished for the landlords not being registered with the RTB.
The rent-a-room scheme is covered but in general, and I presume the Deputy's party would agree with this, it is important that landlords register their properties with the RTB. This is a protection for tenants and is often sought by Members on all sides of the House.
65. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the current position with regard to the electric vehicle, EV, centre of excellence at Columb Barracks, Mullingar. [6613/23]
Will the Minister update the House on the position with regard to the location of the centre of excellence for electric vehicles in Columb Barracks, Mullingar?
I thank Deputy Troy for this question and for keeping in touch with me on the issue. I am very committed to making sure we deliver an EV centre of excellence at Columb Barracks, Mullingar. As the Deputy will be aware, I visited there previously. As recently as in the past two weeks, the chief executive of SOLAS visited there also and met the local education and training board, ETB, about this project and on a number of other issues.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Government is fully committed to achieving our ambitious targets set out in the climate action plan 2023. A key component of the plan is the importance of fleet electrification and a target has been set for 30% of our private car fleet to be comprised of electric vehicles by 2030. Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland, ZEVI, has been established as the dedicated office charged with supporting consumers, the public sector and businesses to continue to make the switch to zero emission vehicles.
It is important that projected workforce requirements are informed by the expertise of the relevant sectoral, departmental and industry experts, with my Department contributing based upon its responsibility to align future skills needs with current and emerging workforce plans developed by the sector. In this context, my Department is supporting this transition by ensuring that through the further education and training strategies, sustainable green skills are key components of our further education and training processes.
I understand very well that the Longford and Westmeath education and training board, LWETB, has submitted an application to develop the new centre and an electric vehicle maintenance centre of excellence in Columb Barracks. My Department has been advised by SOLAS that a new proposal specifically relating to the electric vehicle maintenance skills centre at Columb Barracks is now being prepared by LWETB. The proposal will be subject to full evaluation by SOLAS. This is something we will see happen. I believe that Mullingar will be home to a centre of excellence for electric vehicle training. It will be a key component to roll out retrofitting. It is one of the big pieces of work we have done in the last number of years and we now have enough centres in that space and EV training will be the next one. Columb Barracks is an ideal site and location. I am fully committed, as are my Department, SOLAS, and the LWETB, to making this happen.
I thank the Minister for the update. We all share the ambition of the Land Development Agency, LDA, for Columb Barracks in Mullingar for mixed use, that is, for educational, enterprise, community and housing purposes. A key part of that is a college of further education and centre of excellence for electric vehicle management.
I compliment the Longford Westmeath ETB on the work it has done thus far to bring the application to where it is. I also acknowledge SOLAS, the Minister and my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, for pushing this. We really want to see this developed in Mullingar. It is an ideal location.
We must acknowledge, however, that in the last weeks there has been a change in terms of the plans for Columb Barracks, Mullingar. A lease has been entered into with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. They are making space available, and rightly so, to help with the influx of refugees. In the context of timing, that lease is for 12 months, and does the Minister envisage that this will have an impact on the provision of a centre of excellence in Mullingar?
In previous replies, the Minister mentioned the importance of student accommodation going hand in hand with colleges. I believe there is an opportunity to retrofit the existing buildings now to help with the accommodation crisis for refugees, which we would be able to use into the future when this centre of excellence is created.
It is certainly an interesting proposal from Deputy Troy. I share his view that it is appropriate for any space to be handed over in an emergency humanitarian situation, such as these refugees fleeing from Ukraine and for people needing international protection.
I am conscious that it is a very large site. I am not a terribly technical person, but I do not see this as seriously disrupting the plans there. The plans are at an advanced stage but there is still a bit of work to do in order to get to the actual delivery point. We are all aware of that but we are all very committed to making it happen.
I join with the Deputy in praising the Longford Westmeath ETB and its chief executive, Ms Liz Lavery, with whom I had the chance to meet on a number of occasions. As the Deputy has said, the Columb Barracks site is currently owned by the Department of Defence. It is underused, with sections occupied by community groups, youth groups, and now as part of our emergency accommodation response. The entire Columb Barracks site is proposed for redevelopment by the LDA, with mixed use. I really believe that our sector can play a part as part of that overall master plan. I am very happy to keep the Deputy closely informed and to visit and meet him and the ETB on this in the coming months.
I thank the Minister. I welcome the Minister's renewed commitment, or it would be much fairer to say his continued commitment, to the development of an electric vehicle centre of excellence in Columb Barracks. I welcome that the Minister considers that it can proceed, despite what is happening in the barracks at the moment.
Could the Minister use his position of influence within the Government to ensure that instead of putting tents into the square in the middle, that we look at renovating the existing buildings? They are protected structures and they will have to be maintained. They will offer a very good complementary facility to any future educational institution there in terms of living space for students. In the meantime, they can be used to support this country's response to the refugee crisis. The buildings are in relatively good order, and they could be brought into a habitable state relatively easily and they would be complementary to the further development of the barracks in the future.
I will certainly feed that back to my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, and to the Cabinet committee on Ukraine and the major humanitarian crisis. I visited the Columb Barracks site. We were accompanied on the visit by a local historian who took us around the site, the history of which is fascinating. It is a massive site. Far be it from me to say, but I think the right approach is to try to have a mixed-use development where we can put what was a thriving beating heart of the community back into use in a modern way. Part of that would be for housing, part for education and part of it for the green revolution we need to see in terms of skills. I am very pleased that Longford-Westmeath ETB has put up its hands and offered to be leaders in this area. I am very grateful to SOLAS for taking such an active role. If we are serious about climate change and action, which we are, this EV piece is huge and the centre of excellence in Mullingar can be a hub for the entire country. I look forward to its development.
66. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science further to Parliamentary Question No. 116 of 1 December 2022, the status of the proposed new further education college in Galway city; the status of the development of the preliminary business case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6945/23]
Baineann mo cheist le Gaillimh agus an coláiste nua breisoideachais atá beartaithe agus a bhéas lonnaithe taobh thiar den choláiste ag Móinín na gCiseach.
I ask for further clarification on the very welcome news that there will be a further education campus in Galway city at the back of Moneenageisha on the Tuam Road. Could the Minister give me an update on the preliminary business case?
I thank Deputy Connolly for raising this matter. On Thursday, I am due to meet the new director in SOLAS of the further education and training, FET, college of the future. I may have a further update in which case I am very happy to revert to the Deputy post Thursday, but I will exchange what I have with her now.
As Deputy Connolly rightly said, Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board, GRETB, did superb work, which I acknowledge, in a very exciting plan for Galway city. It wants to establish a FET college adjacent to the training centre in Mervue and the Atlantic Technological University, ATU, and within walking distance of NUI Galway.
My understanding - I am going from my memory of my visit there last winter – is that this could see further education capacity in Galway increase by up to 40% and could also see a consolidation in terms of the service provision, which I understand is a little bit higgledy-piggledy at the moment and is spread around various buildings across the city.
Last year, I was pleased to announce that Galway Roscommon ETB's strategic proposal to develop a further education college in Galway city was successful under the FET college of the future major projects fund. The proposal is now at the next stage of the project under the public spending code. As the Deputy correctly said, that requires the development of a preliminary business case by Galway Roscommon ETB. My Department is working closely with SOLAS in developing a number of template documents and guidance material to support ETBs in successfully completing this stage of the process. In addition, we will hold a number of workshops to assist the successful ETBs with key aspects of the process. SOLAS will be in contact with the GRETB on these important next steps.
The next step is to get the provision of a business case over the line. My job and that of my Department and SOLAS is to make sure they all get over the line and that we help them by making sure they comply with the public spending code. I could detect when I was there talking to staff and management of the ETB that this is a very exciting project. We are fully committed to it as a Department, and I know SOLAS is too. We will work with the ETB. This year, 2023, we will get the business case over the line and in compliance with the public spending code. I will meet Avril Behan on Thursday and I am happy to revert to the Deputy further following that meeting.
I appreciate that. I agree that it is a very positive news story. This college is something many people have campaigned for. It was a gaping gap in Galway in terms of further education. There was an emphasis on the technological university and the university, but this side was completely neglected, despite the fantastic work. I refer to the waste of money on rented buildings, not to mention the effect on morale of being spread all over the city. This is a great news story for Galway. What is the update on the preliminary business case since the previous question I asked about the matter? I will follow up on progress at all times. Has the preliminary business case begun yet? More importantly, when is the completion date? Could the Minister provide clarification? Exactly a year ago today, on St. Valentine's Day, the announcement was made about the €430 million for the various adult education projects. Could the Minister clarify what money has been allocated for Galway?
I visited Galway to make the announcement on 28 November 2022. I appreciate the point that the overall fund was announced. I did not realise it was a year ago today, but there you go. It was 28 November when Galway was officially selected as one of the ten. We have now identified these ten projects. There will be more in the country, but these are the ten we want to proceed in phase 1. We do not give out the specific figure now. That is not to be difficult, but it is subject to tendering and the likes. The question of which project will move first or second of the ten will depend on a number of factors, including planning and the preparedness of the ETB. The factual position at the moment is that now that the ten have been announced - that process took us up to Christmas - in the coming weeks SOLAS will meet with each of the ETBs with the template documents and guidance material for the preliminary business case. On whether it has started, they are all very much aware of it, but the starting will formally be in the coming weeks when the guidance documents and template documents will be given out. I will revert to the Deputy on a closing date because I truthfully do not have one. The key point is that we want to make sure we get people over the line, so we have done a lot of work in making sure ETBs have very clear supporting material and templates on what needs to go into the business case.
I again appreciate the clarification. The preliminary business case has not started yet but the consultation is about to start on it.
Yes.
Will the business case be completed in the first six months of this year? When will it be completed? If I appear a bit impatient, it is because this project has been on the cards for a very long time. Going back a good few years ago, I had the privilege of being chair of the Galway Technical Institute, GTI. The institute has done great, but the building is just not suitable. With the new campus, it will be suitable as an additional building. It is exactly a year ago on this very day that the announcement was made about the €430 million for four capital projects. First, when will the preliminary business case be completed? When does the Minister envisage planning to proceed? When will the vacancies in Galway for planners be filled? The chief planner and another planner are gone. When does the Minister envisage the college going to construction? Has the money been earmarked?
Money has been earmarked. The Deputy should please be impatient, because I am impatient. These ten projects are key to creating a unified tertiary system that will give Galway the last piece of the jigsaw - a traditional university, a technological university and a major modern further education and training college.
I accept the Deputy's point about the year. It has been less than three months since I made the announcement that Galway has been chosen. I was in GTI on that day. I was quite blown away by what they do, but the poor infrastructural quality was clear to me as well. Yes, the preliminary business cases need to be completed this year. The pace at which they are completed will be a matter for the ETBs. I say this directly to GRETB and all other ETBs that have been selected. Once we give them the template documents and the support and guidance, they are then empowered at a local level in the ETBs to get on with getting the best business case together as quickly as possible. The pace at which each of the ten projects move will depend on their ability to get their business case approved and their planning in place. I was very clear in Galway that day that these are projects that in their totality are four to five years from announcement to completion, but we need to sit on it to make sure it happens within that space. The year 2023 is the year of the preliminary business case. I will try to be more specific as to what stage it is at once that documentation issues and I have spoken to GRETB again.
71. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide an update on the submission to the Government on associate membership of CERN being prepared by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6961/23]
The Minister knows the associate membership fee of CERN is a minimum of €1.52 million annually, based on 10% of the full membership cost, which is estimated at €15.2 million annually. This is very important. Could the Minister provide an update? I know discussions have been happening on membership of CERN. As the Minister is aware, it is vitally important in so many ways.
I ask for an update on that.
I am glad we got to this question because I am pleased to give an update. In November, I indicated to the House that my Department would prepare a proposal for the Government to consider joining CERN. Officials from my Department have been liaising with CERN regarding the total cost of membership, the application process and membership options. One option is for Ireland to join CERN as an associate member for a period of between three to five years and then assess the appropriateness of further membership options.
Any formal request by Ireland for membership is likely to involve CERN sending a task force here to carry out a formal assessment of our suitability for associate membership. This is a normal process for any member. In order to ensure appropriate engagement and examination, it is envisaged that a submission will be made to the Government in the second half of the year. It is still my intention to go to the Government in the second half of the year. I have very recently been invited by the director general of CERN to visit and meet with its staff. I intend to do that in the coming months, certainly in the first half of this year, and to make a submission to the Government in the second half of the year. I am very keen to see us join CERN, although I do not want to pre-empt the Government process. Subject to Government approval, it will then be up to CERN to send a task force and so on. We are moving on this and I am eager that we make progress.
That is welcome news. I acknowledge the work done by PhD researcher Michael Mitchell from Trinity College Dublin in pushing this. He is a young Castlebar man who recognises the importance of it. The Minister has met with him, as I have.
In the case of associate membership, the return to Ireland would be capped at the same level as the amount invested. To become a full member, a country must go through an obligatory associate membership phase, prior to full membership, for a minimum of two and a maximum of five years. In this instance, the initial annual membership fee would be at least 25% of the full membership cost and should increase to 100% by the first year. There is no provision in the 2023 budget for CERN membership. The earliest Ireland could join, assuming that the required funding is secured through the Estimates process, would be 2024. Should the Exchequer commitment be confirmed, Ireland can request that CERN send a task force to Ireland to carry out a formal assessment of its sustainability for associate membership. This is the normal process for associate members and the assessment could take up to a year. I am glad to see that progress has been made.
I will be slightly cheeky and inform the Leas-Cheann Comhairle in respect of the previous question that the business cases are due to be completed by quarter 3. I had that information that I wished to share.
Pretty much everything Deputy Conway-Walsh said is a statement of fact. I obviously cannot get ahead of the Government process. I said in November that I was directing my Department to prepare a submission for me to bring to the Government regarding Ireland's willingness to join CERN and an application to do so. That is where we are at now. My team are working on that with a view to my bringing it to Government in the second half of the year. If the Government decides to join CERN at that stage, it will initiate the process outlined by the Deputy, including a task force and the like. Her timelines sound logical to me. Of course, there will be a fee, the level of which is to be determined. That will need to be secured in the context of the Estimates process.
Concurrent with that, we need to re-energise and renew interest in physics in schools. We need to start looking at how we get more young people interested in this at national school level because it is the future, solves so many problems for us and will do so into the future.
I agree. Not to stray into the Department of Education's role - there are two Departments involved - but one of the structures under Impact 2030 is to bring many Departments together that have an interest in this and for my Department to have a co-ordinating role. I will certainly feed the Deputy's comments and suggestions, with which I largely agree, back into that.
