I am always inspired by Deputy Durkan's contributions and I am indeed inspired by that suggestion. There is a real issue here. Some 62% of adults aged over 65 in Ireland have completed primary or secondary education. There is absolutely no reason in the wide earthly world why third level education cannot be open to them at a later stage of life, an opportunity that may not have been afforded to them in the way it is afforded to the current younger generation. The SOLAS skills to advance programme offers free upskil…

Every day is a school day in here. I can certainly agree with that. Any day you do not learn something new is both a rare and a disappointing day. Intergenerational learning is also really important. I have seen good examples of this in community education and further education. Young people pass on their skills, which are often skills in technology, to older people while older people pass on the life skills and expertise they have garnered. It creates the culture of respect that is so important in our communities …

I thank Deputy Farrell very much for the question. As she will know, universities, including University College Cork, are autonomous bodies established under statute. All universities are required to comply with the relevant Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform guidelines, including, as appropriate, the public spending code and relevant circulars. As autonomous bodies, the expenditure of a university’s income, both public and private, is a matter for the individual institution and this includes…

No.

I genuinely do not think I was there. I am open to correction if I was but I do not have a recollection of it. There are two separate issues here. Like all universities, UCC had to prioritise the projects it wanted to submit under the HESIF. It put forward two: the business school and the Kane Building. It got the allocation for both and those projects moved forward. The broader question the Deputy asked is very valid. Yes, I do have a concern that we are not training enough dentists in Ireland. It is not just that…

I thank both Deputies. On the expression of interest process, Deputy Farrell's question was interesting because I asked about graduate entry programmes and was told that none were proposed as part of the expression of interest round. There were three options identified under the Higher Education Authority expression of interest process. One was for a new programme and two were for the expansion of existing programmes. One of those three options came from UCC. We will now see how best to take these forward. However,…

I am committed to providing significant additional resources towards the delivery of tertiary education, supporting students, and addressing the cost of education for families. My Department's gross allocation for this year is €4.26 billion, which represents an increase of more than €990 million - almost €1 billion - since the establishment of my Department. Our current expenditure allocation now represents 4.3% of Ireland's national budget. The Funding the Future framework was published in May 2022 and this outlin…

It is having a real benefit because I am very conscious that 96,000 people were getting €1,000 back on fees they had paid. This was just before Christmas. Getting €1,000 knocked off a bill has a real and meaningful impact. Increasing student grants well above the inflation rate is a real term increase. Providing €750 in a renter's tax credit back to a student - or to the parent of a student who pays the rent - makes a real difference. That will be back-dated for a number of years if the student has been in accommod…

I am very confident that the resources will be available. When I look at other jurisdictions and the very difficult budgetary decisions they are having to make compared to the decisions that we are able to make as a result of full employment, we find ourselves in a more favourable position in bringing forward policy measures. We were able to increase grants and cut fees while increasing core funding. In the past fees were reduced but there was not the increase in core funding by the same amount. That actually cause…

I am honoured and humbled to join my colleagues in paying tribute to and mourning the loss of John Bruton, our former Taoiseach, Minister for many Departments, a TD for more than three decades, the EU's ambassador to the United States and, of course, leader of our party, Fine Gael. On my behalf and that of the Wicklow Fine Gael organisation, I extend my sincere sympathy to the Bruton family: John's wife Finola, his children, his grandchildren, his wider family, his sister Mary and in particular our great colleague …

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I thank the Acting Chair for this opportunity to address the House and introduce Second Stage of the Research and Innovation Bill. The purpose of this Bill is to provide for the establishment of a new research and innovation funding agency, to be called Taighde Éireann. The Bill provides for the dissolution of Science Foundation Ireland, SFI, and the amalgamation of SFI and the Irish Research Council, IRC, to create the new agency. The purpose of this Bill is to cr…

I welcome the fact the Dáil has allocated time to discussing an issue of major policy importance economically and socially: migration. In recent weeks and months, this issue has dominated much public discourse in this House and probably in houses and communities across the country. Unfortunately, a significant amount of that conversation has been grounded in misinformation, disinformation and, often, worse than that. We have seen a coarseness develop and at times a cruelty has entered the discussions. We have seen …

I have some of it.

I thank the Deputy. I look forward to working with her and with colleagues in the House throughout the year. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to take this question on what is a really important issue right across the country. Student accommodation and student housing is not just an issue for students but also presents an opportunity, as we increase supply for students, to free up other accommodation for families, professionals and people coming to a city or region to rent or purchase. There is definitely a…

Absolutely. Many things are different. The Deputy constantly raises with me the need for a new student accommodation policy. The student accommodation policy in advance of this was wholly reliant on the private market. It was all about the private market building purpose-built student accommodation. This is turning that on its head. This is about recognising that the new policy under Housing for All is very much around funding universities and technological universities to build student accommodation and us, as a S…

To be clear, when we take policy decisions, we announce them and tell people about them. It is a good and important thing that we tell our stakeholders and bosses, namely, the people of Ireland what the Government has decided. Let us be clear. The Government decided this week, on my recommendation, to adopt a new approach to student accommodation. The Government has decided that we will use taxpayers' hard-earned money to help to build student accommodation. In terms of hope, that will mean 521 more beds going to c…

I will come back in on that question.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. It is important that we look at all the resources available on the island of Ireland when it comes to education, particularly in the context of trying to provide the number of graduates we require for our public services. We have started with nursing and therapy posts. This year, students from across the island of Ireland are availing of nursing courses and therapy positions in Northern Ireland. The interest in therapy positions - speech and language therapy, occ…

I thank the Deputy for sharing that information from his constituent who is studying on the Magee campus of Ulster University in Derry. I will raise that matter directly with the Minister for Health. I should be clear that what I am doing with the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, in respect of the courses and places we intend to fund will be from this coming September. Without knowing the details, it sounds like the student in question is already studying in Northern Ireland in advance of the new scheme and initiative I …

I thank the Deputy for the vote of confidence in me. This is a very important issue for his constituent and I will certainly take it up with the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. I need to be clear for the record of the House. The initiative I am talking about has not yet commenced. It is commencing from September. We are not currently funding those places for students in Northern Ireland. It is a statement of fact that students in Northern Ireland pay much higher fees than students here. A registration fee in Ire…