I thank the Deputy. To give some examples, the higher education institutions received €5 million for this. The Atlantic Technological University, which has a very substantial campus in Galway, in 2023 received an allocation of €431,667. The University of Galway received an allocation of €316,438. We all have the same objective here. I have been in Deputy Farrell's and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle’s city on more than one occasion. I was doing a totally different job there. I was there as part of my previous role and I …

This is not an issue that is confined to one part of the country nor is it confined to a conversation between one Deputy and another. This is an issue that we all, unfortunately, come into contact with. It is important to point out this was starting from a zero base. The former Minister, who is now Taoiseach, allocated approximately €5 million per year since 2020. That was to recognise the pressures that were there from Covid, which everybody experienced and which was an absolutely horrific period of time. That has…

I thank Deputy Durkan for this very important question. The tertiary education system plays an essential role in ensuring our graduates from higher education, further education and training and from the apprenticeship models are equipped with the essential vocational, professional and other skills and competencies that will equip them for success in work. The agility and flexibility of the tertiary system is underscored by its responsiveness to priority industry and enterprise workforce needs under key policy initi…

That is a very broad question. To be fair to Deputy Durkan, he is asking me to look into a crystal ball. If I was looking into the crystal ball of the Minister, Deputy McGrath, on his way out today, he basically said that economic growth will continue on the trajectory it is on for the next couple of years. Our population will continue to grow and we will require a number of things. We will require a level of upskilling and migration - some people in this House and outside believe that is a bad thing. I believe it …

To use the example of health professions needed, we have done more than make a good stab at that. A lot of positive work has taken place on an all-island basis with all of the universities across the island, making sure that those who will be needed for various different therapies and disciplines in medicine can be trained on an all-island basis and be supported by the Government in this jurisdiction. That is important. Further work needs to be done. The Deputy will have heard the Taoiseach speaking in the Dáil abo…

How much did you get?

One choice has been ruled out anyway.

I thank Deputy Farrell for her kind wishes. Last month, the Taoiseach and I announced the capital investment of €100 million from the national development plan windfall allocation for the delivery of student accommodation projects. This enables the activation of phase 1 of UCD's 493-bed project and the progression of the Maynooth 116-bed project to the construction stage and the DCU project of 405 beds through the tender stage. These projects are part of the short-term activation measures to stimulate supply of pro…

I thank the Deputy very much for that ringing endorsement. I am delighted. What I would say is that a substantial amount of progress has been made in this area in recent years, and that needs to be recognised. This is an interdepartmental process and we must include my colleagues, the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, in the Department of Finance, and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, in order to give an overall picture of housing needs. I am acutely aware of this. I represent a constituency where there is no t…

I remind the Deputy that in budget 2024, the rent tax credit was increased to €750.

In budget 2023, it was also increased. The technological universities element the Deputy referred to is a new area for them. Being able to borrow is a new area for them. In addition, the creation of large-scale capital projects of this nature is also going to be a new area for them. Since I was appointed to this Department, having come from an infrastructure Department, I have been anxious to make sure that both the Higher Education Authority and my Department lend assistance. For many of the technological universi…

Strong demand for craft apprenticeships, which is a good thing, reflecting a very buoyant construction sector, has resulted in a 25% increase in craft apprenticeship registrations since 2019. My Department is overseeing the implementation of a plan put in place by the National Apprenticeship Office which has, to date, nearly halved the number of craft apprentices waiting more than six months for their phase 2 off-the-job training, from 5,319 in October 2023 to 2,976 in April 2024. Craft apprenticeships take 48 mont…

I agree with an awful lot of what the Deputy said, having grown up in a house where we always had craft apprentices related to the construction sector. When the wheels came off the wagon in this country in 2008 and 2010 to 2011, we did not have the certainty to provide a great many of these young women and young men with gainful employment. People who would ordinarily have gone into this went away. Now our economy is far more buoyant and we have a job to do to make sure they feel safe and that this is a career path…

I think the Deputy needs to take solace and comfort from the fact that a substantial amount of additional money, €67 million, was put into this in the previous budget. One of the identifiers is the number of additional tutors now working in this area who were not working in it previously and whom we need to sign off people in order that they can become skilled craftspersons in their own right. Oftentimes when I am in this Chamber, I listen to people say, "If you are saying you are going to build 35,000 houses, I am…

As well as that, they are working to get people into the programmes. There is no point in saying, "If you are saying you are going to build 35,000 houses, I will build 65,000", without a plan as to how to get young people into apprenticeships.

I know Deputy Gannon has been in touch with my office with regard to a particular issue. In recent weeks I have not been available-----

-----but my office will gladly meet him with regard to the specific issue he has. I thank Deputy Gannon for raising this question. To be eligible to apply for a student grant, you must be an Irish, EU, EEA, UK or Swiss national or you must have one of the permissions to remain provided by the Minister for Justice, which are listed in the Student Support Act 2011 and the Student Support Regulations 2024. The Deputy may wish to note these permissions relate to the underlying basis of a person's right to remain in the…

Yes.

That is fine. I will arrange that. As a more substantive reply, I will be meeting the Minister, Deputy McEntee, on this issue as well. As Deputy Gannon knows, the stamps relate primarily to the Department of Justice, but my office will arrange that meeting.

As the Deputy will be aware, the rent a room scheme is under the remit of the Minister for Finance, my colleague Deputy McGrath. However, I acknowledge that my Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage are the main users of the scheme. Therefore, I am very conscious of the need to safeguard our students in digs accommodations, which are typically more informal and flexible arrangements in family homes. For this reason the usual Residential Tenancy Board protections do not apply to this…