Parliamentary questions

926. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the progress he has made on exempting students in the private rented sector from the forthcoming abolition of rent controls between tenancies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55527/25]

358. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if matters raised in correspondence (details supplied) will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54504/25]

359. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of external consultancy contracts entered into by his Department in the past five years, including the original estimated cost, the final cost, and the reasoning for contracting this work rather than using internal resources. [54324/25]

360. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to confirm if any staff devices (laptops, phones, USBs) containing departmental information or sensitive data were reported lost or stolen in the past five years; the number of devices reported; the data risk involved; and the associated cost of mitigation. [54384/25]

361. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to detail the instances in which software or IT systems procured by his Department or agencies were later deemed unfit for purpose; and the costs of replacement or remediation. [54394/25]

362. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science further to Parliamentary Question No. 1405 of 17 September 2025, which stated that his Department’s quarterly procurement-related payment reports ‘were originally prepared in Excel and subsequently converted to PDF’, the reason the underlying machine-readable files (CSV/Excel) are not pub…

328. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the plans to expand semiconductor related education and training pathways, including apprenticeships, post leaving certificate programmes and postgraduate research, in order to meet the workforce requirements of advanced chip manufacturing facilities; and if he will make a statement on …

329. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if any courses run by an institution (details supplied) are approved courses under the student fee scheme for specified undergraduate courses as set out in Section 7 of the Student Support Act 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54055/25]

330. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of students in 2024/2025 from the 26 counties that have applied to universities in the North, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54075/25]

331. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for an update on plans to address grade equivalencies between North and South; the efforts to make all-Ireland student mobility more accessible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54077/25]

720. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to address the rise in unregulated hairdressing services operating from homes and informal settings, in view of the impact on legitimate businesses and loss of revenue to the State; if he will consider introducing regulation and formal apprenticeship schemes for the hairdressing industr…

721. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to confirm that permission is required to use the words “campus” or “college” in the name of a business; the cost to apply for such permission; the information required to apply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52945/25]

722. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of students from the Twenty-six Counties who applied to universities and colleges in the North of Ireland, by county, per year between 2020 and 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53054/25]

723. 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. [53055/25]

724. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to outline progress toward allowing the creation of professorships in the Technological Universities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53077/25]

725. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to outline progress on the construction of new on-campus student accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53078/25]

726. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to respond to matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); if consideration has been given to recognising other proof of residence for fee status classification; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53145/25]

727. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his plans to ensure international students on stamp 3 visas can access SUSI supports to continue their studies here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53198/25]

728. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of stakeholder submissions received by his Department as a result of the stakeholder consultation on amendments to the National Training Fund; and the names of stakeholders who were invited to participate in this consultation. [53326/25]

729. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of SUSI applications received each year for the past three years; and the number of applications which were successful. [53327/25]

730. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his views on the establishment of a national skills observatory as per recommendations made by the National Skills Council. [53328/25]

731. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will review the case of a person (details supplied) who has appealed the decision regarding their SUSI grant to the Student Appeal Board; if he will provide an update on the status of this appeal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53442/25]

732. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the progress of the expansion of apprenticeships since the publication of the action plan on apprenticeships; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53505/25]

733. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the status of the target of 10,000 annual apprenticeship registrations by the end of 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53506/25]

734. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the work on increasing the number of craft apprenticeships, given how crucial these are in meeting our national and housing retrofit targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53507/25]