The Department of further and higher education is working closely with the Department of Health to expand the healthcare workforce capacity of the country, including oral healthcare. The Department does not place a quota on the number of places on dental courses, and the number of places offered is therefore a matter for the higher education institutions in line with their autonomy. I acknowledge, however, that due to the high level of practical work, there can be material constraints on the number of students that…

It is important to point out that UCC has received substantial government investment in recent years under a capital programme. These would have been identified by UCC. With regard to the dental school, we have to go back to 2016 when it was announced that UCC had secured a loan from the European Investment Bank, including €37 million to build a new Cork university dental school, research centre and hospital. On the more substantive issue the Deputy has asked about, I will actually be in Cork on Friday. I will be m…

For the academic year 2022-23, UCC had an intake of 50 and Trinity had 45, so the total is 100 or thereabouts. I do not disagree. This goes back to much of what the previous contributor asked about with regard to workforce planning. These are the dialogues we are having in respect of not only dentists but also pharmacists, vets, carpenters, builders and bricklayers. Regardless of the discipline, this is the area of conversation, whether in higher education or further education, about the capital requirements, the t…

Inclusion is one of six strategic goals set out in my Department's statement of strategy. The national access plan, NAP, has identified a number of priority groups who are under-represented in higher education and need additional focus, including students with disabilities. The Department has provided funding of an additional €35 million to support the objectives of the NAP over its lifetime from 2022 to 2028, including a new PATH 4 stream, which puts a further focus on students with a disability, including those w…

As I said in response to other Deputies who raised issues regarding the budget, I will be guided to a large degree by many of the issues that are raised directly by Members of the House, including people such as the Deputy. The proportion of new entrants in 2022 who had a disability was 12.5%, whereas the current figure is 13.8%, with a target of 16%, so we are going in the right direction. The Taoiseach, the former Minister, Deputy Harris, was anxious that in respect of PATH 4, in particular, we would make strides…

I do not disagree with the Deputy. His county colleague Deputy Stanton raised circumstances for people that may seem simple but can be very challenging, relating to, for instance, access to the most basic of facilities on campuses, including bathrooms, and the tying up of transport. There will definitely be a requirement for local authorities, some State agencies and other Government actors in this space to help us because, while ours is a policy-led Department, we do not have the wherewithal to do everything, but …

The Department is carrying out an information-gathering exercise that will facilitate the signposting of courses and associated supports for people with disabilities as they move from second to tertiary level, and this is part of a broader scheme of work planned by the Department, which will also include a diagnostic review of the tertiary offering for people with disabilities as part of work linked to the national disability strategy. The terms of reference of the review of personal assistant services that are fun…

Before the Deputy entered the Chamber, I referred to the movement from second level to tertiary level, particularly for those who are in receipt of personal assistance hours. In many cases, they move from primary to secondary with school special needs assistants or other forms of assistance and then there is a cliff edge. There is no doubt that this cliff edge is extremely daunting. It comes down to how we navigate that and how the third level institutions, many of which are autonomous, provide services with suppor…

I have no problem at all in doing so. In the context of the discussion on personal assistants, we are in the same place now as our predecessors were 20 years ago in their discussions about special needs assistants in the primary sector. It is a natural and good progression. It is a good progression because many of the people we are talking about have come through extremely challenging situations in order to get to the place they are in. We will have to put a pathway in place over a period to see how we can make sur…

As the Deputy will be aware, the Higher Education Authority recently ran a process to identify options to expand higher education provision in a number of priority skills areas, including veterinary medicine. Proposals were put forward by a range of higher education institutions under this process. The options identified have the potential to significantly increase the numbers of students who would be able to take up places and to become vets in the future. It is important to say that a substantial capital investme…

I thank the Deputy for his warm wishes. The decision relating to this matter will be based on a number of key indicators I have already outlined with regard to the provision of additional spaces. I know that the Deputy has a particular interest in one location is his area. He is to be commended for raising this in the Dail. The decision will be made in a collaboration between ourselves, the HEA, the Department with responsibility for agriculture and others to make sure the criteria set out about regional balance, v…

I do not have anything more to add. We are taking this issue very seriously. I hope to be in a position to make an announcement with regard to this as soon as possible. However, there is a caveat having had regard to all of the indicators I set out, which the Deputy will appreciate as a former Minister of State.

I thank the Acting Chair for the warm welcome back to the Seanad. I really enjoy the engagement with the Upper House. I have just come from the other House. As legislators, if we ever needed a dose of perspective and reality around what should actually be important to us, that was a fair injection of reality this afternoon. Sometimes we get tied up in the minutiae of things and the ordinary people out there wonder why we are fighting among ourselves and then on a day like today we get slapped across the face, as it…

What I said, for the benefit of the House, is that "use" is a broader term than "application", which is a deliberate choice, so the answer is "Yes". With regard to the other definitions, most of which have been lifted from international best practice, OECD definitions or definitions that are incorporated into the HEA Act, it is a bit late in the day for us to be unravelling either international best practice or the HEA Act with regard to the prescription of new definitions. That is predominantly the reason I am rel…

I hope so. I will have to leave the Chamber. The Minister of State, Deputy Collins, will take the next grouping. I remind the House of what the Bill states. Section 16(2) states: ...the Board shall be appointed by the Minister from among persons who, in the opinion of the Minister, have sufficient experience and expertise relating to matters connected with the functions of the Agency to enable them to make a substantial contribution to the effective and efficient performance of those functions. The Public Appointme…

What are you going to do there?

You are a bit of a tourist so.

I am happy to step in for the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, to discuss the Labour Party motion on housing targets and regulation. The Government is not opposing the motion. Work is already under way under the Government’s Housing for All plan on a number of proposals set out in the motion. I welcome the opportunity to update the House on the progress made to date and the ongoing work that will address some of the issues. To start, the motion proposes that the housing targets set out in Housing for All are too l…

Yes. EUROCONSTRUCT, an independent construction market forecasting network, has forecasted that Ireland will grow construction output at the strongest rate among the 19 European countries – a very positive outlook for the future. With regard to the rental market, we know that challenges remain for both tenants and landlords. That is why we have commenced a comprehensive review of the private rental sector. This review, which is the first in a decade, has taken into account the significant recent regulatory and legi…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach agus leis na Seanadóirí. Mar Aire Stáit don Ghaeilge agus don Ghaeltacht, fáiltím roimh an deis labhairt i Seanad Éireann le linn Sheachtain na Gaeilge faoi chúrsaí Gaeilge agus Gaeltachta. Is iontach an méid sin Gaeilge a chloisteáil anseo inniu. Tá gach scéim atá á riaradh ag mo Roinn tábhachtach agus dírithe ar neartú agus ar bhuanú na Gaeilge mar theanga phobail sa Ghaeltacht agus go deimhin ar fud an oileán seo. Mar a luaigh an tAire, an Teachta Martin, tá ceannteidil an…