In the interests of accuracy, the rent tax credit scheme is run by the Department of Finance so I am offering information to be helpful as I know it to the House as opposed to being accountable to the House for the administration of the rent tax credit scheme, which is done by the Revenue Commissioners. I agree with the Deputy about affordability but I also think there is a real focus on the issue of supply. We know that even at current rates, on-campus accommodation is over-subscribed. From memory, for every one b…

I acknowledge that this is an issue that Deputy Pringle raised with me on a regular basis and that the Killybegs campus is important to him and his community. I expect to be in a position to establish very shortly a regional campus support fund. There are a number of campuses that the Deputy and I believe are integral to regional and local access to third-level institutions. I would consider Killybegs to be very much in that category. To be frank, sometimes they can cost a bit more to run but there is a public good…

I want to get to a place where the people of Killybegs and the Killybegs campus can be certain not just about their future but about the fact that they are not a peripheral part of a university but instead have a core role. The comments I have received from ATU regarding its view are very encouraging. I am also told that ATU is working with the Donegal local enterprise office and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to look at how we can support the development of Killybegs and south-west Donegal. The…

I agree with all of that. I hope the Deputy can take some encouragement not just from what I say but, more importantly, from what ATU is telling me. It is highlighting tourism education and training as a key role for Killybegs. It acknowledges that the campus there has a long tradition of excellence in the area and talks about anticipating development in food science in Killybegs given its location and access to raw materials such as marine protein. It is also talking about the Killybegs marine cluster and its role…

Not to upset the Deputy, but I think I agree with him on this. His suggestion makes logical sense. There is always a balance to be struck between the importance of encouraging full-time students to focus on their studies, the integrity of their education, etc., on the one hand, and the real world, on the other. In the real world, many people work in part-time jobs, perhaps doing a shift in a bar, in a supermarket or wherever at weekends. Many people probably need to do so, and I am conscious of that. As the Deputy …

As the Deputy said, he was successful last year in highlighting the issue of holiday earnings. We heard him and other colleagues and acted on that because it was a sensible step to take. I do not want students to be looking at their payslips and worrying that, if they work, within reason, an additional shift at the weekend in a local bar, hotel or supermarket, it will push them out of financial support, to the point where they might decide it is not worth their while continuing with their studies, or that they cann…

I know my limitations, so I will not give any views or advice on dancing, a matter I will leave to the Deputy. He clearly managed to juggle quite a lot in getting through education, dancing and a job. The serious point in all this is there is a cost-of-living challenge for many people, and I accept there is a cost to going to college and to education. I also fully accept there are many people, in both rural and urban Ireland, who are looking for somebody to work in their pub, hotel, supermarket, shop, pharmacy or w…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I acknowledge he was one of the people most strongly agitating and advocating for a review into PhD conditions and I am pleased that is under way. The purpose of the review of PhD supports is to contribute to the development of a set of national guidelines for supports for PhD researchers that fosters a consistent standard of experience. That lack of consistency is something about which I hear a lot of frustration from PhD researchers. This is a key commitment in Impact 203…

To be crystal clear, one of the first acts of the chairs will be to meet with those groups. I will have to check if I have met that group but I have met postgraduate representatives from the Union of Students in Ireland, USI, and a group of postgraduate researchers from Trinity College Dublin who made a strong and compelling case about the need. I am meeting the co-chairs next week. The first item on our agenda will be to discuss their engagement with the representative bodies for our PhD researchers. I have no dif…

I thank Deputy Carthy for his question and note his interest in it as an agricultural spokesperson. I want to get this right. I recognise there are two issues my Department must oversee. One is to make sure there are enough places to meet demand in the country. We have identified veterinary, dentistry, nursing and medicine as areas in which we wish to expand the number of places. We must also ensure, separate and distinct from that, that the number of Irish students who have to go abroad is reduced. I could never u…

I am delighted to see such an interest in veterinary medicine because, a year ago, Deputy Conway-Walsh and I were being told there were an adequate number of places, and that never felt right to any of us. That is not the position now. We are doing this scoping exercise. There will, I believe, be at least one new veterinary school at the end of this. I do not want to pre-empt the process. I have to keep neutral and external to the process going on, but the point that Deputy Doherty and others make about the regiona…

I do not disagree with what the Deputy said. I referenced the EU directive in the context of mutual recognition of qualifications. I am happy to check for the Deputy, but I understand that an accredited place through the Veterinary Council of Ireland is recognised in the North, the UK and the EU, as well as in some other jurisdictions. I can seek clarity on the latter for the Deputy. The process of looking at what is possible is external to me, as should be the case. Nobody wants me to decide what is appropriate fo…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter repeatedly and for keeping in touch with me in respect of it. I am working actively to address the difficulties faced by students in accessing affordable student accommodation. In recognition of the real challenge, including rising construction costs and the impact of same on the affordability of accommodation, I received Government approval on 29 November last to, for the first time ever, invest taxpayer funds in helping to build student accommodation. As the Deputy will …

I agree fully with both Deputies. I assure Deputy Dillon that the structured approach makes sense. If there are synergies and we know there is a model that can work for the technological university and get things moving, let us not waste time coming up with a load of different models. You notice when you drive around the country, many new schools are beginning to look the same. That is because the Department of Education got it right and that saves time in the roll-out. Nothing is off the table in terms of the moda…

I assure the Deputy that I will inquire into the position regarding the old military barracks site in Castlebar to see what the position is and establish if progress can be made. I will familiarise myself further with the matter. He mentioned it to me previously. I will get the view of ATU and the Department. I will be happy to revert to the Deputy on the matter. The Government will continue to do everything we can to increase supply but we are also looking at different ways in terms of helping with affordability. …

Over the past number of years, I have delivered a range of enhancements to the student support scheme to better meet the needs of students and families, and it is only right and proper that we do. Over the course of the past three budgets and, in addition, separate and distinct from the one-off cost of living measures, I have significantly increased the rate of the grant, with the most recent improvements taking effect last month. I have increased the income limit for students availing of the 50% undergraduate stud…

I will say to Deputy Dillon that there are a number of areas in which I want to make progress. There are three in particular, one of which we discussed earlier regarding the income disregard for a student who is working a shift in a pub or hotel at the weekend and who is worried about losing his or her grant. That is something logical on which we can move fairly swiftly. The second issue is part-time students. I am frustrated about this and want to get it resolved. I have been very clear in relation to this. I have…

I will certainly reflect on the issue of paperwork and accessibility and so forth. As the Deputy acknowledged, SUSI staff are working extremely hard as they deal with a huge volume of applications and queries. I will talk to them to make sure it is as user-friendly a system as possible. With regard to that issue of broadening the types of courses that qualify, my first intention would be part-time courses because there will be many students, including some the Deputy would know in Atlantic Technological University,…

I can indeed. I thank Deputy Browne for the question. I will not go through the formal answer because he has heard some of it already. With regard to a straight question regarding DCU, this is something on which I hope to be in a position to make progress within a matter of weeks. I do not want to pre-empt conversations we are having with DCU or get ahead of myself but I acknowledge the really intensive and excellent way DCU has been engaging with my Department. There has been a real collaborative approach. There a…

I assure the Deputy that I have been willing but in fairness to them, I also wish to acknowledge they are up for it too. In fairness to our universities and our technological universities, a lot of them are chomping at the bit to make progress on this. They are all at different stages, which is just a statement of fact and not a value judgment. The six traditional universities have planning permissions and they want to get on with it and we want them to get on with it. We are trying to free them up to move on, incl…