Written Answers Nos. 340-347
340. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the total number of people in CHO4 currently waiting for home support; the current average length of time between approval of home support and commencement of home support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6002/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra341. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health what percentage of home support assessments in CHO4 were carried out using interRAI assessment in 2023; what progress has been made to date on rolling out the interRAI assessment tool in CHO4; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6003/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra343. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the total number of consumer directed home support (CDHS) home care packages currently being delivered in CHO4; if clients on home support waiting lists are being informed about CDHS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6005/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra344. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if consideration would be given to increase the number of hours delivered by private and non-profit home care providers in CHO4 in order to alleviate the home support waiting list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6006/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 340, 341, 343 and 344 together.
As this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE recently ended the industrial action which commenced on 6 October 2023. As a consequence, members in these grades were not engaging with political forums or processes. As a result of the accumulated backlog, the question asked by the Deputy may be delayed in receiving a response directly from the HSE.
Question No. 341 answered with Question No. 340.
342. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health how clients on waiting lists are prioritised for home support in CHO4; and how the waiting list is managed locally in CHO4; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6004/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday, 6 October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades were not engaging with political forums or processes. The Fórsa action has now ended. However, the question asked by the Deputy may be delayed in receiving a response directly from the HSE.
345. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his views on the contract negotiations of an organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5776/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe regularisation of the role of adult education tutors in Education and Training Boards is a priority for me and my Department.
As the Deputy will be aware, a proposal issued to staff representatives last year to establish a new grade of adult educator, with a standardised pay scale aligned with the Youthreach resource person scale. This grade will apply to tutors employed in ETBs to deliver FET programmes, who are currently employed under a variety of terms and conditions. The provision of a pay scale will allow for incremental progression and a career path for Tutors in the further education and training sector.
The implementation of the proposal has been the subject of further negotiations with staff representatives. A key issue raised related to incremental progression. My Department and the Department of Education, which has regulatory responsibility for the ETB sector currently, have recently submitted an updated proposal to the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. The award of Building Momentum increases due to those tutors on SOLAS-funded programmes who are paid on self-financing rates will also be addressed as part of this process. Officials are engaging on the updated proposal and it is hoped to conclude this matter at the earliest opportunity.
Each of the over 2,800 tutors employed across the ETBs will have the option to avail of the proposal and assimilate on to the proposed new adult educator pay scale or remain on his or her existing arrangements.
346. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science further to Parliamentary Question No. 200 of 31 January 2024, to outline the research and research processes that underpin this reply, particularly the general sentiment that recruitment, rather than applications in the TU sector is positive since their individual inception and the specific explanatory rationale for the recent decline proffered. [5941/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn relation to the data provided in PQ No. 200 of 31 January 2024, published HEA enrolment data for the 2022/2023 academic year shows a decrease of 4,225 (1.6%) in total enrolments in higher education, with a total of 256,785 individuals enrolled across all modes of study relative to 261,010 in 2021/22.
This decrease includes the following:
A drop of 2,294 in the number of Irish domiciled students undertaking taught masters programmes. Graduate outcomes data shows that a higher proportion of graduates from the class of 2022 in employment 9-months after graduation, suggesting the strong labour market is encouraging students completing undergraduate programmes to go straight into employment rather than further study. It is important to note that this decrease follows a Covid-impacted increase of over 4,100 in 2020/21. The 2022/23 decrease may be a reversion to a sustainable level after pandemic driven growth.
A drop of 1,420 in the number of students undertaking Certificates. This is being driven specifically by two courses related to Brexit in SETU Carlow, which saw a drop of 1,197 enrolments in one year.
A drop of 1,685 in the number of students undertaking Ordinary Degrees. This is the continuation of an ongoing pattern of change in which less students are opting to pursue an ordinary degree, and more are opting to pursue an honours degree.
The last four years have been marked by significant fluctuations in enrolments in the higher education sector in general reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Total enrolments increased by over 13,270 in a single year, increasing from 246,630 in 2019/20 to 259,900 in 2020/21. Despite the reduction this year, enrolments in 2022 are more than 10,000 above pre-pandemic levels.
Overall higher education enrolment trends reflect a range of underlying factors including availability of opportunities outside education and preference for particular course types. These factors must be considered carefully in assessing enrolment figures.
It should be noted that the number of new entrants each year to undergraduate honours degree programmes in the technological universities have increased steadily over the last five years, from 9,760 in 2018/19 to 11,760 in 2022/23.
As to the wider successes of Technological Universities, I draw the Deputy’s attention to the many advances that have been made in the sector in recent time, in particular the securing of EU funding for TU-related projects. €84 million in technological university-oriented research funding has been secured over the period of the European Regional Development Fund to 2027. This funding will enhance central research functions within the technological university sector and further institutions’ engagements with their regions. It will establish, strengthen, and systemise research and innovation offices in TUs to enable greater and more structured engagement with regional enterprises, in particular, small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This programme is entitled TU RISE (Research & Innovation Supporting Enterprise).
The benefits of research and innovation offices will be accelerated and cascaded across disciplines and campuses of institutions through staff development, including increased researcher human capital, at faculty/school level. As such, TU RISE will result in a deepening of research-led teaching and learning excellence, including at apprenticeship and post-graduate levels, extension of research fields, and greater capacity within TUs to serve national and regional strategic objectives in line with Ireland’s Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3).
TU RISE responds to Smart Specialisation ambitions by strengthening TUs as regional innovation leaders. It aims to build new and additional capacity to facilitate and enable knowledge transfer and S3 objectives. By supporting enhanced research, development and innovation capabilities and work placements into enterprises, TU RISE activities will bring knowledge and expertise out of TUs and into the regions and generate opportunities for enterprises to draw on academic expertise within institutions. This exchange is a critical enabling step in cultivating engagement with SMEs and building a pipeline for further collaborative projects.
TUs are uniquely placed to link with local and regional enterprises, particularly Small and Medium Enterprises, to support them to turn innovation opportunities into real-world actuality, which TU RISE will be accelerate.
€40 million was also secured over the period 2022 – 2024 under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan for TU Education and Training reforms programmes.
The project is organised around three interconnected streams: Stream 1: Transform the student experience through learner empowerment; Stream 2: Transform learning, teaching and assessment by developing staff capabilities using a Sustainable Education Framework Stream 3: Enable Digital Ecosystems to transform learning, teaching and assessment.
Both of these funding streams will enable growth and development not only of our TUs, but also of the regions around them. The complement substantial Exchequer investment, including the €50m Technological Sector Advancement Fund, announced last year.
The TUs have demonstrated their capability through the high quality proposals for new programmes submitted through the HEA’s Capacity Building Expressions of Interest process. Officials in my Department are working with colleagues in the Department of Health, and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in the context of the ongoing National Development Plan review process on bringing these proposals forward.
Additionally, the TUs have been central to the rollout of tertiary degree programmes in partnership with regional Education and Training Boards (ETBs). A tertiary course is one that commences in an Education and Training Board (ETB) and continues in a Higher Education Institution (HEI), culminating in the award of a degree, allowing for potential students to pursue degrees in nursing, business, engineering, and media without ever engaging with the CAO system. The first tertiary programmes commenced in September 2023, and earlier this month I announced a major expansion of joint degree courses with more than 40 options to be offered this year.
It is clear that substantial progress has been made to date and that Technological Universities are contributing substantially to a dynamic and innovative higher education system.
347. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science further to Parliamentary Question No. 200 of 31 January 2024, and the technological sector advancement fund referenced therein which is purported to provide €50 million to continue to assist new technological universities in their post-establishment phase; the amount of disbursed monies from this fund; the precise total funds amount approved to each TU to date, in tabular form; will the Minister comment as to where exceptionalism is being demonstrated by him and his Department in terms of this funding disbursement to recognise the unique deficit the southeast region suffers given that it has no National University institution to support third level delivery unlike the other regions of the country; his plans to further enforce exceptional funding to the southeast region because of this known deficit and regional imbalance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5942/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs requested, tabular data on the monies dispersed under the Technological Sector Advancement Fund is laid out below:
|
Technological University TSAF Allocations and Year 1 Payments |
||
|
Institution |
TSAF Allocation |
TSAF Year 1 Payments |
|
ATU |
€8,500,000 |
€5,528,390 |
|
MTU |
€7,500,000 |
€4,802,250 |
|
SETU |
€9,500,000 |
€6,083,800 |
|
TU Dublin |
€9,500,000 |
€6,083,800 |
|
TUS |
€7,000,000 |
€4,482,800 |
|
DkIT |
€3,200,000 |
€2,048,960 |
|
Total Allocated |
€45,200,000 |
€29,030,000 |
|
Balance to be allocated |
€4,800,000 |
|
As may be seen from the table, €9,500,000 has been ring-fenced for South East Technological University, of which over €6 million has already been paid out- an equivalent investment to that in Technological University Dublin, and ahead of other technological universities.
The Government has delivered a university presence to the South East spanning four campus locations for the first time in the history of the State. The South East Technological University (SETU) established on 1 May 2022 is the third largest technological university and enables students in the South East to study and gain qualifications at all levels of the NFQ, up to and including doctoral degrees, in their own region. SETU is also a catalyst for regional development and socio-economic progress in the South East.
The Department also remains committed to providing capital funding supports to SETU. For example, the new Engineering, Computing and General Teaching building which is planned for SETU Waterford Campus is progressing as part of bundle II of the 'Higher Education PPP Programme'. This building will add significant capacity to the campus to help address increased demand. SETU Waterford Campus expansion and SETU Wexford Campus are both being progressed under the TSSPF framework.
