Written Answers Nos. 1225-1242
1225. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if any former Secretaries General are seconded from his Department; the locations of same; the purpose of the secondment; the remuneration they are in receipt of from his Department or additional allocation to the agency or institution to which they are seconded arising from the secondment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29265/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science was established in 2020. The current Secretary General has been in place since the establishment of the Department and hence there are no former Secretary Generals seconded from my Department.
1226. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the estimated cost of increasing undergraduate nursing places by 10% based on the full economic costing; the number of places that this would create for medicine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29302/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra1227. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the estimated cost of increasing undergraduate dentist places by 10% based on the full economic costing; the number of places that this would create for medicine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29303/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra1229. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the estimated cost of increasing undergraduate psychology places by 10% based on the full economic costing and the number of places that this would create for medicine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29305/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra1230. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the estimated cost of increasing undergraduate counselling and psychology places by 10% based on the full economic costing; the number of places that this would create for medicine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29306/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra1231. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the estimated cost of increasing undergraduate speech and language therapy places by 10% based on the full economic costing; the number of places that this would create for medicine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29307/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra1232. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the estimated cost of increasing undergraduate physiotherapy places by 10% based on the full economic costing; the number of places that this would create for medicine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29308/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra1233. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the estimated cost of increasing undergraduate occupational therapy places by 10% based on the full economic costing; the number of places that this would create for medicine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29309/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra1234. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the estimated cost of increasing undergraduate pharmacy places by 10% based on the full economic costing; the number of places that this would create for medicine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29310/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra1235. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the estimated cost of increasing undergraduate medical science places by 10% based on the full economic costing and the number of places that this would create for medicine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29311/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1226, 1227 and 1229 to 1235, inclusive, together.
The costs incurred by a Higher Education Institution in increasing student places on a particular course can vary depending on a variety factors including the type of course and the individual circumstances of the relevant Higher Education Institution. It is therefore not possible to definitively calculate the costs sought.
Full Economic Costing (FEC) data is produced by the university sector. It is an activity based costing model that aims to capture the full economic costs of teaching, research and other activities. It is important to note that Full Economic Costing (FEC) considers cost per FTE student per Subject Price Group within current levels of delivery. While the data provided can be useful indication of potential costs for providers it should not be considered as the definitive costs that would be associated with any increased provision.
Notwithstanding the above, to provide an indication of the potential costs associated with increased places the Higher Education Authority (HEA) has provided the below estimates based on current funding levels:
- Based on 2020/21 full-time undergraduate enrolments (excluding Non-EU fee paying students), the estimated cost of a 10% increase in full-time undergraduate medical science is c.€530,000 - €640,000. This includes all full-time degree programmes where medical science and biomedical science is included in the title of the programmes. While the number of additional places for medicine is not applicable it estimated that, where medical science and biomedical science is included in the title of the programme, a 10% increase would create c.53 additional student places.
- Based on 2020/21 full-time undergraduate enrolments (excluding Non-EU fee paying students), the estimated cost of a 10% increase in full-time undergraduate pharmacy students is c.€700,000 - €840,000. While the number of additional places for medicine is not applicable a 10% increase in pharmacy enrolments would create c.70 additional pharmacy student places.
- Based on 2020/21 full-time undergraduate enrolments (excluding Non-EU fee paying students), the estimated cost of a 10% increase in full-time undergraduate occupational therapy students is c.€390,000 - €410,000. While the number of additional places for medicine is not applicable a 10% increase in occupational therapy enrolments would create c.39 occupational therapy student places.
- Based on 2020/21 full-time undergraduate enrolments (excluding Non-EU fee paying students), the estimated cost of a 10% increase in full-time undergraduate physiotherapy students is c.€620,000 - €650,000. While the number of additional places for medicine is not applicable a 10% increase in physiotherapy enrolments would create c.61 additional physiotherapy student places.
- Based on 2020/21 full-time undergraduate enrolments (excluding Non-EU fee paying students), the estimated cost of a 10% increase in full-time undergraduate speech and language therapy students is c.€350,000 - €370,000. While the number of additional places for medicine is not applicable a 10% increase in speech and language therapy enrolments would create c.35 additional speech and language therapy student places.
- Based on 2020/21 undergraduate enrolments (excluding Non-EU fee paying students): the estimated cost of a 10% increase in undergraduate counselling students is c.200,000 – 210,000. This includes all full-time and part-time programmes where counselling is included in the title of the programmes. The estimated cost of a 10% increase in full-time undergraduate psychology students is c.€1,330,000 - €1,390,000. This includes all full-time Level 8 Honours Degree programmes where psychology is included in the title of the programme. While the number of additional places for medicine is not applicable a 10% increase in psychology students would create c.195 additional psychology (undergraduate Level 8 honours degree programmes where psychology is included in the title of the programme) student places
- Based on 2020/21 full-time undergraduate enrolments (excluding Non-EU fee paying students), the estimated cost of a 10% increase in full-time undergraduate psychology students is c.€1,330,000 - €1,390,000. This includes all full-time Level 8 Honours Degree programmes where psychology is included in the title of the programme. While the number of additional places for medicine is not applicable a 10% increase in psychology students would create c.195 additional psychology (undergraduate Level 8 honours degree programmes where psychology is included in the title of the programme) student places
- Based on 2020/21 full-time undergraduate enrolments (excluding Non-EU fee paying students), the estimated cost of a 10% increase in full-time undergraduate dentistry students is c.€830,000 - €1,100,000. While the number of additional places for medicine is not applicable a 10% increase in dentistry enrolments would create c.28 additional dentistry student places.
- Based on 2020/21 full-time undergraduate enrolments (excluding Non-EU fee paying students), the estimated cost of a 10% increase in nursing and midwifery students is c.€7,100,000 - €7,900,000. While the number of additional places for medicine is not applicable a 10% increase in enrolments would create c.714 additional nursing and midwifery student places.
Please note the above estimate excludes any additional costings which may be met by other agencies or departments.
1239. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the estimated cost of increasing undergraduate medical science health and home-care assistant FETAC level 5 places by 10%, based on the full economic costing; the number of places that this would create; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29319/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra1261. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the estimated cost of increasing QQI FETAC level 5 major award in healthcare support or pre-nursing studies places by 10%; and the number of places that this would create for healthcare assistants. [29925/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1239 and 1261 together.
SOLAS, the further education and training authority, has advised that it is currently supporting the provision of 15,892 places in health care courses in 2022 as follows:
|
Course |
Planned Beneficiaries 2022 |
|
Healthcare Support (5M4339) |
8,684 |
|
Nursing Studies (5M4349) |
3,557 |
|
Health Service Skills (5M3782) |
3,651 |
|
Total |
15,892 |
It estimates that a 10% increase in these places, to 17,481, would cost an additional €4.3m based on the current course profiles.
1240. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the amount that has been recouped by his Department from student repayments due to SUSI grant overpayments in 2019, 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022. [29389/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra1241. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the total amount of grant overpayments by SUSI that occurred in 2019, 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022. [29390/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1240 and 1241 together.
The complex nature of the student grant scheme means that there is a risk that some students receive grant payments for which they are not eligible, including for reasons beyond the direct control of SUSI.
To mitigate the risk of overpayments, SUSI implements procedural and system-based controls within its application assessment and grant payment operations. A highly developed quality assurance programme is implemented within the assessment process and a focused programme of independent post-assessment reviews are also performed across targeted risk areas.
The critical objective for SUSI is to identify and rectify errors on a timely basis before a grant is awarded and thus before any overpayment can arise. Issues identified from quality and post-assessment reviews are fed back into the assessment process through feedback and training on a current basis.
SUSI has a formal overpayments policy and implements repayment approaches that are sensitive to students’ means and circumstances
SUSI is obliged to attempt to recoup any grants issued to applicants who are not eligible for funding, as per section 24 of the SUSI Support Act 2011:
where a person, whether or not he or she is a student, has received moneys from an awarding authority that are in respect of a grant that the person is not entitled to receive, the person is liable to repay to the awarding authority on demand a sum not exceeding the amount of money received.”
The below table represents the total amount of overpayments made to students by academic year.
|
Academic Year |
Total € Amount of Maintenance Overpayments Identified |
|
2018/19 |
€658,912.31 |
|
2019/20 |
€604,641.95 |
|
2020/21 |
€790,013.42 |
|
2021/22 |
€326,756.40 |
*Data for current academic year (2021/22) may change as processing is ongoing.
1242. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if she will review correspondence (details supplied); if any funding schemes are available to this person; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29434/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe main support available to students is the statutory based Student Grant Scheme administered by SUSI. To qualify for grant support, a student has to meet various criteria such as means, residency, nationality and progression.
Approved undergraduate courses for the Student Grant Scheme 2022 are prescribed in the Student Support Regulations 2022 and in the Student Support Act 2011. SUSI grant funding for courses in the UK is limited to undergraduate courses only.
In general, students attending approved undergraduate courses in the UK can apply for a maintenance grant provided they meet the terms and conditions of the Student Grant Scheme. The Regulations prescribe that an approved undergraduate course is a full-time course leading to a major higher education and training award which takes a minimum of two years to complete in an approved institution.
Details of the Student Grant Scheme can be found at www.susi.ie
Tax relief at the standard rate of tax may be claimed in respect of tuition fees paid for approved courses at approved colleges of higher education including approved undergraduate and postgraduate courses in EU Member States and in non-EU countries. Further information on this tax relief is available from a student's local Tax office or from the Revenue Commissioners website www.revenue.ie
