Basically, the Minister needs to communicate with SUSI. People who are applying at the moment are being told that they are over the limit. They need to know. Parents and students need to plan now as to whether they can afford to go to college and continue their education. Waiting until September and hoping that everything will be okay is going to delay and clog things up. Parents and students have enough worries as it is, without being excluded from this. Dealing with SUSI, in terms of change of circumstances, is n…

When will the independent economic report on the Cassells report be published? It is widely accepted the higher education sector has been chronically underfunded since Fine Gael came to power in 2011. In the words of the Irish Universities Association, the State embarked on a sustained period of disinvestment in higher education. The European University Association's Public Funding Observatory report on 32 higher education systems refers to Ireland as an extreme case "where universities were confronted with strong …

I am glad it has come back to the Minister. Maybe he will confirm when it came back to his Department. A major part of the State divestment was based on passing the costs on to students and families, as is evident from the fact we now have the highest fees in the European Union. We need a sustainable funding model, as the Minister said. The Cassells report made this clear in 2016, yet we are still waiting for the report five years later. It is urgent. The Minister told me in September last year the report would be …

The Minister knows that the higher education institutions are carrying a debt of almost €1 billion as it is, and he knows what needs to be done in human capital and everything else that is needed. Related to that, how many labs have been put in since last year? The infrastructure was proving a problem in meeting the demands of higher numbers. The London Economics review of the Augar review, which is an appraisal of the English further and higher education systems, argued for a less market-orientated approach to thi…

Will the Minster set out the amount of time students can expect to spend on campus when they return in September? It is certainly welcome that third level students will be back on campus, but so far little detail has been provided. As the Minister is aware, representatives from the Irish Universities Association, the Technological Higher Education Authority and Education and Training Boards Ireland are appearing before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation a…

I thank the Minister for his response and for the briefing he mentioned. I refer to my previous question in respect of extra lab places and being able to facilitate social distancing or whatever needs to be done there. We will all be looking forward to 19 July for this funding and otherwise. However, as the Minister is aware, funding is also very important to ensure support for well-being and mental health is provided on campus. If a student is a close contact, will he or she have to isolate even if that student is…

I thank the Minister for his response. I completely understand we cannot make predictions, particularly in respect of the Delta variant and the impact it might have. However, in respect of people making plans for accommodation, and I know we have improved it somewhat during the year, I ask that we provide as much certainty as possible, notwithstanding that there will be variables. I must return to the issue of the number of extra lab places and physical infrastructure that will be put in place for students. I know …

Has the Minister engaged with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform on the employment control framework and the increase in precarious work in higher education? I know he recently called for a halt to precarious part-time employment in higher education but this implies that the blame lies with the colleges. In the past, most of my questions to the Minister have been dismissed on the grounds that employment is an issue for the institutions themselves rather than for the Department but the institutions have …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. I am glad that something appears to have been done. I know the Minister will accept that until the issue is addressed, the problem will continue. Under the employment control framework introduced in 2011, universities are prevented from hiring full-time staff over and above the existing numbers in most cases. One provision in the employment control framework means that posts funded by sources other than the Exchequer are only to be filled on a fixed-term basis. The culture report publ…

I thank the Minister. I welcome that but this is something to which we need to return every time we engage in here because, until such time as this is fixed, it will have an impact, and not only on lecturers. The Minister referred to PhD students, who are really and truly exploited across the board because of the way the system is set up. We have to change the system. Will the Minister provide a timeline whereby we can see the impact of the work being done to change this? It is not acceptable that students are work…

I wish to inquire as to the status of the apprenticeship waiting lists as they are now. What is the number of apprentices who are waiting for off-the-job training and the number of apprentices who have been waiting for more than a year? In March of this year, after the beginning of the pandemic, there were 6,928 apprentices on a waiting list to access off-the-job training. By May, that figure had increased to more than 9,000. Some of the apprentices I have spoken to feel abandoned and that apprenticeships are being…

Is the Minister of State really telling me that the situation is worse than it was in May? We are now at the level of 10,000 apprentices waiting for phases 2, 4 and 6. I am quite shocked at that. I understand the Minister of State said that things will be fixed in the autumn, but this is like saying we will all have jam tomorrow. While I know there is not enough time here today, I would like to see a very detailed plan for the autumn in that regard. This has serious implications for their education and income. Thro…

What are the targets for September in terms of what will be done over the summer? This week I was contacted by a young man from Mayo working as an apprentice plumber. He has not been able to access the phase 4 training in his apprenticeship. This means he will possibly be stuck on apprenticeship wages longer than the four years it should take. No other cohort of students is treated in this way and apprentices should not be undervalued. It gives completely the wrong message. We want to attract people to apprenticesh…

I am sharing time with Deputies Martin Kenny and Patricia Ryan, who have five minutes each. On the whole, Sinn Féin supports the Bill. It is right to create uniformity in this area and set out in clear terms the relationship between schools, parents and students. Providing a framework in the form of a charter for parents and students will surely have a positive impact on engagement between all parties, including teachers, staff, parents and students. I welcome the amendment mentioned by the Minister, which is to in…

While this Bill seeks a necessary extension to the duration of the CervicalCheck tribunal, we have to face the fact that, with only a single-figure number of claims, it is not working and is not fit for purpose. The Minister has heard that loud and clear. I welcome what he has said today about the consultations that will take place. He says women will have more time. Well, unfortunately, in the CervicalCheck scandal, many women did not have more time, and that was the issue. This needs to be addressed once and for …

I acknowledge the great work done by the Department of Social Protection and the people working on the ground. They had a significant task to meet the demand for the pandemic unemployment payment and other payments. I want to go back to talking about the local employment service. I believe that the Minister is making a monumental mistake and I need to ask her some specific questions about it.

I question the Indecon report. It is a public document and was the basis for the decision that was to be made here. I believe that there is an alternative to this decision-making, despite what has been said about the EU directive. We have to question the data and the statistical information. I believe the data are inaccurate. In Mayo, for example, it was stated that there were 65 Pathways to Work referrals in 2016 when there were actually 650. Why is it only based on one year when most of the decisions would be bas…

It is important that organisations are not excluded on the basis that they do not have the financial capital. Will those currently employed in local employment services be affected once new contracts are in place? If a group of local employment services misses out on this contract in the tendering process, will they be protected? Will there be a transfer of undertakings for existing staff to ensure job security for them? What plans are in place for any redundancies that have to be made, any lease agreements that ha…

My question concerns the western rail corridor. Following the publication of the report by Dr. John Bradley, the Government needs to stop prevaricating and deliver on the western rail corridor as part of the national development plan. Is it in the national development plan? Does the Government recognise that it is a key piece of infrastructure for the development of the west of Ireland?

As I speak, thousands of families from fishing communities throughout the country have gathered outside. I welcome what the Taoiseach said earlier about the review of the Common Fisheries Policy next year and that the Brexit deal creates the capacity to address the situation as it is. I want him particularly to look at the unfairness in the quota allocated for line mackerel.