Questions

2155. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of students who will attend ATU Mayo from phase one to six under the Electrical Apprenticeship Programme for 2025-2026, by number of students for each phase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60018/25]

2156. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the capacity of the college phases for the newly introduced Electrical Apprenticeship Programme at ATU Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60019/25]

2157. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if there are plans to increase the intake of students for Electrical Apprenticeship Programme in the next three years at ATU Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60020/25]

2158. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the total amount expended to date on the advertising campaign described in the media as costing nearly €450,000 to entice Irish construction workers abroad to return home, including a breakdown of expenditure by market (United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom); the number of wor…

2159. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science having regard to reports that nearly €450,000 was spent on a campaign to attract Irish construction workers home from abroad, the number of those workers that have actually taken up employment in Ireland as a result of the campaign; the criteria being used by his Department to measure the campaign’s success …

2160. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if an assessment was undertaken of the opportunity cost of spending nearly €450,000 on advertising to attract emigrant workers, rather than on upskilling or retention initiatives for those already working in Ireland; if a cost-benefit or return-on-investment analysis was completed before the campaign’s launc…

2161. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science further to Parliamentary Question No. 913 of 21 October 2025, if he will provide the key performance indicators and metrics from the campaign from concept to delivery; the number of persons to date that have returned on foot of the campaign. [60205/25]

234. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of students receiving SUSI grants in County Kildare in each year from 2022 to 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57479/25]

235. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of apprenticeships registered in County Kildare in each year from 2022 to 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57480/25]

236. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science whether his Department has projects, contracts, or pilots currently being undertaken or in development that make use of agentic AI; if the use of these technologies is internal only or public facing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57626/25]

237. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the total number of service contracts awarded to private consultancy firms, broken down by projects in IT, management, accounting and auditing, Department and cost, each year to date since 2000, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57659/25]

876. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for an update on technological universities becoming providers of medical school education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57229/25]

877. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will examine the case of a student who was unable to complete their SUSI grant application for a Professional Masters in Education due to not being registered in the programme at the time of application; if any flexibility or late application process could be considered in such instances, where registra…

878. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will examine the case of students enrolled in the Bachelor in Science in Education Studies and Bachelor in Science in Early Childhood Education programmes at an institute (details supplied) who are excluded from the “free fees initiative” and therefore not eligible for the recent €500 reduction in the s…

879. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the amount of funding given to any researchers (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56616/25]

880. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the system in place to check whether researchers are legitimate before funding is handed out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56617/25]

881. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the oversight being used to verify and ensure affiliations are legitimate and traceable in terms of research; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56618/25]

882. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the transparency that is mandated through clearer author contribution statements and verified funding acknowledgements, to create a more reliable and accountable record of how research is conducted and supported; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56619/25]

883. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for an update on plans to align CAO and UCAS results dates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56645/25]

884. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the amount that has been spent by his Department to conduct tendering processes for public infrastructure projects in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56694/25]

885. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for an update on the work being done by his Department, and agencies under its remit, to facilitate, in line with the commitment under the Programme for Government, the easier return to Ireland for emigrants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56789/25]

886. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the detailed breakdown of funding allocations for the Higher Education Authority for 2024, 2025 and 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56830/25]

887. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the detailed breakdown of funding allocations for Hear and Dare for 2024, 2025 and 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56831/25]

888. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the detailed breakdown of funding allocations for SUSI for 2024, 2025 and 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56832/25]

889. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the detailed breakdown of funding allocations for Youthreach for 2024, 2025 and 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56833/25]