In budget 2025, we secured €6 million in annual funding to support the activation of more than 1,200 new student accommodation beds through leasing. This measure will support target group students in availing of new accommodation supply, with at least 30% of all developments being available at below market rates. A sum of €1 million has been secured to provide student accommodation officers for the sector to build resourcing and capabilities. In addition, An Taoiseach and the Minister announced an investment of €10…

There is no decision from the Government, or any recommendation from the Department of public expenditure and reform to the Government to make a decision, on the TU borrowing facility. That is something that is raised with me quite regularly, so that is to answer it straight up for the Deputy. However, it is our intention to increase supply as much as we can. That is why the intention of the technological university feasibility study is to develop a programmatic approach to facilitate future TU student accommodatio…

As the Chair stated, the Deputy has picked a fine example. That is exactly what is being inquired into by the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Higher Education Authority through their statutory process and, I understand from media reports, An Garda Síochána, so there are lots of moving parts in that regard. It is incumbent on any higher education institution to ensure value for money. Therein is the other point that we have to reiterate in this House on many occasions, that is, that our higher education inst…

We are developing a new student accommodation strategy to identify accommodation needs and responses in campus locations, in line with the long-term student accommodation policy adopted earlier this year. The strategy will encompass all demand. However, there is a key emphasis on providing State support for the most disadvantaged students who cannot participate in the market and who require and receive assistance to attend higher education. The strategy will include measures to increase the supply of State-supporte…

From 2017 to the end of August 2024, 15,222 purpose-built student beds were built, bringing the total stock of student beds to in excess of 48,000. Since 2020, 9,241 student beds have been completed, with 7,046 of those beds in the private market and 2,195 beds provided by the higher education institutions. Of the 2,195 public beds provided by the higher education institutions, 1,021 publicly funded beds became available in 2023, 674 of which were in the University of Galway, 255 in UCC, nine in Trinity College Dub…

Previous speakers have raised this issue and we have discussed student accommodation. We have a long-term student accommodation policy, which was approved by the Government in 2024.

That policy will inform student accommodation strategies and schemes which are being developed throughout 2024. We also have conducted a feasibility study across the technological university sector, as the Deputy will know. That was basically an exercise in which we collaborated through the umbrella group for the technological universities. We asked them to identify their requirements and demands in their locations based on the future strategies of each technological university, based on the demographics and on the…

In budget 2025, we made a significant investment of €77.4 million to grow apprenticeship, a valued option for those who wish to gain a skill or improve their skills across many sectors of the economy. There are currently 77 national apprenticeship programmes available from levels 5 to 10 of the national framework of qualifications, NFQ, across a diverse range of skills from plumbing to sales to cybersecurity. Opportunities exist to advance to further levels in the NFQ. For example, in apprenticeship, there is the o…

The clinic is open, and the Deputy can send on all his details. We will endeavour to assist all the aforementioned people. Deputy Durkan asked about a skills gap. I referred previously to our regional skills forums and regional skills managers. The regional skills forums are stakeholder groups that our regional skills managers meet in their respective areas regularly. They are representative of the employers and various sectors in which they operate. They identify skills needs and deficits. It is a bottom-up exerci…

It is a job of work for our various ETBs, SOLAS, technological universities and colleges of further education and training to constantly identify skills deficits and gaps in the labour market. The Deputy referred to the construction sector. Right across the country, we have our education and training service providers. Training covers modern methods of construction and green skills initiatives related to the sector’s requirements and obligations to address climate change. All of this is under continual review. Ther…

The Deputy will be aware that Galway and Roscommon ETB is being supported by SOLAS in developing its preliminary business case proposal under the FET college of the future major projects fund. The development of a robust preliminary business case is fundamental to the requirements of the infrastructure guidelines. The proposal put forward by Galway and Roscommon ETB is one of 12 projects that are currently being progressed under the fund. As the Deputy is aware, the Galway and Roscommon ETB proposal relates to the …

I will ask the Department to revert to the Deputy with the breakdown she has asked for. On the engagement that has taken place with ETBs to support them in developing their preliminary business cases, SOLAS and the Department met representatives of all 12 ETBs over a two-week period in April and May of this year to further discuss their proposals in the context of affordability, value for money and the relevant regional and national FET policy objectives. As part of this engagement, they were asked to refine their …

The ETBs were given until 2 September to submit their refined business plans.

According to my information, a total of seven ETBs submitted their refined business plans by 2 September 2024. Submissions were received from Cork ETB, Cavan and Monaghan ETB, Kilkenny and Carlow ETB, Kildare and Wicklow ETB-----

No. Its submission was not in on time. The five ETBs that did not submit business cases for evaluation are expected to do so by the next full sitting of the evaluation panel, in January 2025, and they will be considered.

Yes.

No.

Deputy Connolly asked what the next steps are when the business case is submitted. Following the evaluation process, the ETBs which have met the required standard will move to the next stage of development and progress to the pre-tender, project design, planning and procurement strategy phase. For projects that do not meet the required standard, our Department will write to SOLAS to confirm the recommendation that the business cases require refinement or further development before they can move to be approved to mo…

Yes.

Our Department continues to oversee the implementation of the plan put in place by the National Apprenticeship Office in November 2023 to significantly increase apprenticeship capacity, responding to rising craft apprenticeship demand as a result of our buoyant economy. In budget 2024, €67 million was allocated to apprenticeship, on top of which our Department reprioritised a further €30 million on a temporary basis in order to address the apprenticeship backlog. This investment enabled the recruitment of 87 appren…