1263. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the policy rationale for excluding certain QQI validated undergraduate programmes delivered by private higher education institutions from eligibility under the free fees initiative and from SUSI grant support; whether he is aware that the BA (Hons) in Psychology at Carlow College is currently the only u…
Parliamentary questions
Questions
TDs ask ministers questions to get answers on the record, most of them in writing. Here is every one asked in the 34th Dáil, by the department it went to and the subject heading it was filed under. How questions work
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1,182 questions match, newest first.
1264. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the position regarding any mechanism in place within his Department that allows for civil servants to transfer on secondment to an equivalent role within the European Union, without negatively impacting their pension and other employment rights; his views on the merits of such a scheme; and if he will make a …
1265. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he is aware that there is no bereavement leave as part of Research Ireland's post-graduate scholarships and that bereaved researchers must take unpaid leave; and if he will direct Research Ireland to put in place bereavement leave as part of the scholarship contract. [34707/26]
1266. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will provide a list of all capital projects, including further and higher education campus, ETB and research infrastructure projects, delivered under the remit of his Department which have been completed on time and within budget in Cork North-West in each of the past five years, in tabular form; …
1267. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science when the Department last published an annual NTF evaluation report including counterfactual modelling of programme impacts, as recommended in the Indecon Review and repeatedly called for by an organisation (details supplied) since 2022; the reason no such report has appeared since 2019; and the date on which…
1268. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of times the NTF Advisory Group has met since July 2022; the number of employer representatives who attended each meeting; and the specific recommendations from an organisation (details supplied) on enhancing enterprise input into governance and prioritisation of NTF expenditure that have been imp…
1269. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science whether the National Training Fund has been leveraged to implement a dedicated Lifelong Learning Strategy to prepare workers for the digital and green twin transition, as recommended by an organisation (details supplied) in 2022; the total NTF expenditure on digital skills, green skills and lifelong learning…
1270. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will introduce a national training voucher scheme, as proposed by an organisation (details supplied) in 2022 and supported by the Indecon Review, to reimburse employers (particularly SMEs) for accredited in-company training; and if not, why the €283 million unspent in the NTF in 2025 has not been used …
1271. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will introduce the time-limited National Training Fund rebate recommended by an organisation (details supplied) in 2022 to support businesses facing rising labour costs from auto-enrolment, living wage and pension changes; and whether he accepts that continued accumulation of surpluses while employers …
1272. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the additional funding allocated to employer-led Skillnet networks and Regional Skills Fora Managers since 2022 to boost SME engagement and regional capacity, as called for by an organisation (details supplied); and if he will provide a regional breakdown showing expenditure in rural and agri-food areas. [34…
1273. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science whether all NTF-funded programmes now meet the core statutory objectives of close-to-labour-market skills, upskilling those in employment and preparing people for employment, as insisted upon by an organisation (details supplied); the amount of NTF money reallocated to non-employer-aligned programmes (includ…
1274. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he accepts the conclusion in the report of an organisation (details supplied) of July 2022 that the accumulation of NTF surpluses is not caused by EU fiscal rules but is instead a political choice on expenditure prioritisation; whether he will now increase the Department's expenditure ceiling to utilise t…
1275. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the total funding allocated from the National Training Fund to Farm Business Skillnet and other agriculture-focused Skillnet networks in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025; the number of farm businesses and participants supported by Farm Business Skillnet in those years; and whether he will now increase c…
1276. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he accepts that practical, sector-specific training delivered through Farm Business Skillnet in areas such as farm management, sustainability, leadership and rural skills is exactly the type of close-to-labour-market investment that an organisation (details supplied) called for in its 2022 report on the F…
1277. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will outline the roll that the Grangegorman Development Agency will undertake in developing capital projects in the Further Education Sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34839/26]
1278. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the funding or grant supports that are available to students from Ireland who are travelling to the United Kingdom to study musical theatre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34840/26]
1279. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he has considered excluding students' own income from summer employment/weekend work as part of the means test for SUSI grants; if he will examine the cost of removing it to better support families who have to pay fees in full, without support, due to the part-time work of the applicant; and if he will…
1280. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will provide a list of all capital projects, including further and higher education campus, ETB and research infrastructure projects, delivered under the remit of his Department which have been completed on time and within budget in Kildare in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if he wil…
1281. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the basis on which the current levy arising from public expenditure overruns is being calculated and applied to his Department’s Vote; whether any categories of expenditure, including pay, pensions or staffing-related costs, are exempt from the levy within his Department; and if he will provide a breakdown …
1282. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will outline what additional pharmacy training places are expected to be made available at University College Cork as part of the Government's €28.5 million investment in healthcare education announced as part of recent Dáil debates on cancer services; if he will provide a breakdown of how the 1…
1283. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the steps being taken to ensure that the new pharmacy programme established at South East Technological University is supported by adequate clinical placement infrastructure across all regions, including Munster; whether the model of collaboration formalised through the recent Memorandum of Understand…
1284. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his Department provides any financial support or incentives to encourage practising pharmacists to undertake postgraduate clinical pharmacy qualifications such as the part-time MSc in Clinical Pharmacy offered by University College Cork; if he will outline whether places on such programmes are supp…
1285. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of students in receipt of the SUSI grant for 2025/2026 and each level thereof, such as partial fees, full fees, fees plus maintenance and so on; the percentage that this represents of the overall full time undergraduate student population; the additional numbers who benefitted from changes made …
1286. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he will provide a list of all capital projects - including those delivered under LEADER, the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, CLÁR, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme and Údarás na Gaeltachta programmes which have been completed on time and within budget in Kildar…
1287. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he will provide a list of all capital projects, including those delivered under LEADER, the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, CLÁR, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme and Údarás na Gaeltachta programmes which have been completed on time and within budget in the W…