Questions

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 …

576. Deputy Catherine Callaghan 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 Carlow in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if …

577. Deputy Catherine Callaghan 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 Kilkenny in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and i…

578. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the way in which ongoing compliance of the English language sector will be monitored under Trust Ed Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33593/26]

579. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the way in which his Department will ensure that escrow accounts are being used by all education providers that are awarded the Trust Ed Ireland quality mark; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33594/26]

580. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the way in which his Department will receive complaints relating to breaches of Trust Ed Ireland by education providers, who will investigate these complaints; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33595/26]

581. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if consideration is being given to establishing a Government led complaints mechanism for the English language sector as part of Trust Ed Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33596/26]

582. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science whether he is satisfied that international students are, in practice, receiving refunds of course fees within expected timeframes under the ILEP following a visa refusal, in light of reported delays in such refunds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33597/26]

583. Deputy Emer Currie 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 Dublin West in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if he …

584. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his Department or any bodies and agencies under his aegis use software and or products from a company (details supplied); and the duration and cost of the contract; and the services they avail of from the company. [33722/26]

585. Deputy Barry Ward 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 Dublin in each of the past five years, in tabular form [33832/26]

586. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for a list of all further and higher education services available in the Clondalkin area; whether there are plans to increase the number of such services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33856/26]

587. Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of civil and public servants employed by his Department in each of the past ten years, in tabular form. [33953/26]

1250. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the way in which a young self-employed landscaper can become a fully qualified arborist (details supplied) ; if they can be allowed to avail of the State-funded grants and training pathways such as Solas/ETB; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33270/26]