Questions

3311. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science how the national training fund's investment in higher education will be used to implement the funding the future strategy; how the €50 million allocated from the NTF for higher education core funding in 2025 has been invested; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44080/25]

3312. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide a breakdown of private-owned and publicly-owned student accommodation in Cork city; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44388/25]

3313. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the reason adult education teachers are being told there is no role or guarantee of hours for the coming academic year, while positions are being advertised for new recruits, and while Government is increasing funding to the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40716/25]

3314. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science , further to Parliamentary Question No. 228 of 1 July, to provide an update on his engagements with the City of Dublin ETB; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40737/25]

3315. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of companies, and from what sector, collaborating with Research Ireland's activities or other State supported research initiatives in 2024; if the proportion of SMEs can be identified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40765/25]

3316. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh den Aire Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais, Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta cad iad na pleananna atá aige maidir le cúrsaí Gaeilge tríú leibhéal nua a chur ar fáil chun a chinntiú go mbainfear amach an sprioc inniúlachta 20% sa Ghaeilge d'oibrithe sa Státseirbhís roimh 2030. [40823/25]

3317. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the total spend by his Department on external legal services in each of the past three years; the main areas of legal activity for which external advice was sought; if he will provide a breakdown by case or category; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40837/25]

3318. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will clarify the status of adult literacy and English for Speakers of Other Languages, ESOL, tutors employed by ETBs, many of whom have been told their contracts may not be renewed due to budgetary issues; the number affected; the steps being taken to ensure continuity of provision for learners this S…

3319. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the amount spent on legal fees associated with litigation, advice and settlements in each of the past three years by his Department and agencies under its aegis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40881/25]

3320. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will review the exclusion of Marino Institute of Education from core Higher Education Authority funding streams, given its role in teacher training and the impact on students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40899/25]

3321. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the expected timeline for finalising the regulations and commencing the designation by order process under the Higher Education Authority Act 2022, which would allow institutions such as Marino Institute of Education to apply for designated status; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40900/25]

3322. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he has engaged with the Minister for Education and Youth regarding the implementation of the Sahlberg report’s recommendations on teacher education, particularly in relation to Marino Institute of Education and its integration within the higher education system; and if he will make a statement on the m…

3323. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in the context of the Killarney Innovation Centre providing spaces for emerging tech enterprises, how his Department is supporting the development of local skills in areas such as AI, data science and software development, to ensure that the region has a workforce that meets the demands of these industrie…

3324. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science given that the Killarney Innovation Centre aims to foster collaboration between SMEs and innovators, if there are any current or upcoming initiatives to strengthen the partnership between local universities, colleges and innovation hubs in Kerry to facilitate knowledge sharing and innovation. [40913/25]

3325. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide the total number of grant payments issued by the Department in each of the past five years, along with the total value of those grant payments for each year, in tabular form; and to confirm whether these figures include all schemes and discretionary grant programmes administered directly by the D…

3326. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of persons who applied for the SUSI grant on the grounds that they were estranged from their parents, in each of the past ten years. [41146/25]

3327. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will benchmark SUSI grants and reckonable income levels against the cost of living, include the SUSI maintenance support for part-time students, and enable those in receipt of SUSI to receive financial support for repeat exams;; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41204/25]

3328. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science whether technical universities, and specifically, TUS Clonmel IT, receive funding to build student accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41216/25]

3329. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide an update on plans for a centre (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41303/25]

3330. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he is aware that apprentices in metal fabrication in construction and engineering are being paid at different rates with regard to training allowance rates in phases of their training, despite carrying out the same training in the same environments; if so, if he plans to take steps to remedy this dispari…

3331. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his plans to address the poor CAO points conversion rates for A-level students in Northern Ireland to have a fairer opportunity to access undergraduate courses in the south, considering that in order for students to achieve the maximum 625 points, they would need to do four A-levels, when most Northern …

3332. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his plans to address the need for better career guidance supports and advice for prospective students from Northern Ireland, who make up just 1% of total CAO applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41474/25]

3333. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science how a 23-year-old apprentice (details supplied) in his first year of a plumbing apprenticeship in Galway getting paid €7.50 per hour can afford to live securely while trying to complete his training, whose parents, along with paying their own mortgage must also contribute to his rent of a shared room fo…

3334. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the reason there are college placements assigned by SOLAS, and the Education and Training Boards, often to places far from where apprentices are living; whether his Department have plans to prioritize local training allocations and reduce delays in these; and if he will make a statement on the matter. […

3335. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for information about the working group established in response to the Programme for Government commitment to advance the research infrastructure requirements of the higher education sector, specifically about the programme for research in third-level institutions, some of whom are using equipment that …