James Lawless

I am aware of the issue which has been raised with me by the student unions and I have come across this in my review of the different schemes. It is fair to ask and test this to see what is appropriate. The Deputy mentioned that one of the families she had been in contact with had stated the difficulty in assessing and establishing that independence. Documentation accepted by SUSI includes: a let…

The Deputy might call it a bureaucratic checklist but I am sure she would also agree public moneys should be carefully managed. It would not be appropriate to have a free-for-all where we do not need any proof or documentation and anyone who applies can get appropriate payments. I imagine the Deputy would agree this would not be appropriate either. If we accept that neither extreme is a good place…

To answer the Deputy's second question, yes, I will commit to increasing funding in education. I have announced that already and brought this before Cabinet where I secured approval to do so. The National Training Fund is a €1.485 billion pot of moneys which is collected through employer levies to support training and educational needs. There is a need for legislation to unlock that fund because …

I agree with Deputy Cummins. We are very much on the same page on this. With regard to talent from abroad, I want Ireland to be a welcome place for scholars but that includes supporting our own - the people already here - and attracting more. The best-in-class research and innovation, STEM and humanities studies all work best when people collaborate at every level, including internationally, so th…

I thank the Deputy. I intend for the funding to support the entire sector. The Deputy mentioned some figures. I would also be a bit concerned by the current level of our research and development spending as a percentage of GDP. We need to increase that. The private sector is spending a lot, so public sector spending needs to increase. That will be reflected in what I am hoping to achieve through t…

I appreciate the Deputy raising this important issue, as the mental health and well-being of our third level students is a matter of deep concern and ongoing priority for this Government. The Government and my Department remain committed to enhancing mental health supports across the sector. My Department has allocated a total of €32 million to support higher education institutions in meeting the …

Some examples of the types of projects being supported through that funding include the national student counselling database implementation project. This facilitates the identification of trends in the mental health needs of students attending student counselling services. It measures and monitors what trends are coming through from access to counselling services and identifies areas for further …

If we consider some of the ratios, one counsellor for every 1,000 students was the suggestion from the International Accreditation of Counseling Services, IACS, to which the Deputy referred. There are different views about that report as to whether that is the optimal way to measure ability and whether that is the right metric but I certainly note what the Deputy is saying. The national student me…

I had the pleasure of visiting the University of Galway last week. I met the chair, the president and the students' union and we had a good discussion on this and many other matters. I admired the fine quadrangle and had the opportunity to inspect some of the research projects around the campus as well. It was a really worthwhile visit to see the really good work being done there. Regarding stude…

Yes.

We are probably veering into questions for the Minister for housing rather than me. I am not aware of the seven-storey buildings the Deputy talks about. There are already 1,891 purpose-built student accommodation beds on campus in the University of Galway. The latest figures tell us the university accommodation is oversubscribed, however, as it has received more applications per bed than there are…

It is not unusual for student accommodation to be used for other purposes during the summer months. Most of the higher education institutions do that themselves. It is part of the challenge of finding a solution. I want to see the maximum available beds for student accommodation based on a formula that works, first and foremost, for students. Many of the higher education institutions look to use s…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6, 11 and 33 together. As the House will be aware, the main support available to assist students with the cost of attending higher education is the student grant scheme. Under the scheme, grant assistance is awarded to eligible students attending an approved course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating t…

There were a couple of options raised and I will try to come back to the Deputy on each of them. Career guidance and counselling is something I tend to very much support and I am keen to increase the provision of it. As we know, it is extremely difficult for students, typically at a young age, to make choices that may have implications for their entire life journey after that. There is a bit of a…

I have listened to what the Deputy has said and I have taken note. He might want to follow up with me on that case as well. The first thing I would say, before I and my Department get involved, is that the student should consider appealing if they have not done so already. Indeed, I would advise any student who feels they have been wrongly denied a grant, or not had their correct level of grant fu…

On the disability framework and the challenge posed, this Government wants to support people with disabilities in the fullest possible way to allow them to live the most meaningful and impactful lives as possible, and with as much support from the State as possible. This fundamental goal is writ large in the programme for Government and the entire Government is committed to delivering on it. Indee…

I mentioned some of the places we have provided and we intend to provide further places in these areas. There are also agreements regarding healthcare provision with Ulster University and Queen's University Belfast resulting in a further 389 places over the last two years. I visited Queen's University Belfast over the Easter break and met the president, Ian Greer. I also met some of the students f…

I thank Deputy Connolly for his support in my visit to Galway last week. He is a great advocate for the college and works closely with the team. I believe he is a former student. That was a very good engagement. I agree with both Deputies on the real need to examine all options and all levers at our disposal to increase the number of disability workers. These include Springboard. I believe it cou…

I thank the Deputy for the question. I am committed to increasing the supports available to students and to addressing the costs of education for students and their families progressively over this year and the coming years for as long as I am privileged to serve in this office. It is important to say that all proposals made regarding education expenditure, including student grants, thresholds, l…

I know the Deputy's commitment to North Kildare and to our shared constituency. I agree that education is absolutely a core part of that. Education, talent, skills and investment in people is the core of our success economically as well. That is why we, as a nation, have achieved everything we have. It is because of our investment in education from the early days of the State. It is something I co…

I totally agree. I will raise some of the progress we have made in recent years and which is continuing again this year, from this September. On the cost of education, the threshold is one part of it, and an important one. The SUSI grant system is one part also. There are other factors such as student accommodation, which I am working on. I hope to publish a strategy on student accommodation this …

I thank the Deputy for his continuing interest in the Cavan project as well as others. More generally, on the Department's capital ceiling over the last period there is a dedicated capital envelope, which the Deputy referred to, that amounted to €300 million for the further education and training sector, FET. Available funding has increased again from a low base of €6 million in 2018 to €107 milli…

I absolutely know it will be put to very good use. It is a fantastic and very exciting project and it is great to hear the history of that building, and indeed of the project and further education in the Cavan-Monaghan area. I thank the Deputy for the invitation to visit. I will certainly put that in my diary and will get there in due course. I would like to see it for myself. You cannot beat seei…

I agree with the Deputy and I thank him for those points on access to the system for those who maybe would not have had that given they were coming from backgrounds where traditionally education or higher education was not a feature. The further education sector has been so progressive and has led so much in making education accessible to so many more families in a community setting and closer to …

I thank the Deputy for his question and his kind words. I look forward to working with him to deliver for Kildare North and the country as we work together in this House and elsewhere. I know he is spokesperson for a related area as well. I want to acknowledge that and support him in his work. The plan to modernise research equipment is a topic close to my heart. It is something that I immediatel…