Yes, I do. I am really encouraged by what I saw yesterday and what I saw of the research ecosystem in Maynooth and the real focus there on doing more in research and collaborating. I am encouraged by the meeting I had with the new president of NUI Maynooth yesterday, her management team and the discussions we had on collaboration with further education. I really want to see the education ecosystem in Kildare - the colleges of further education, the secondary schools and the university - working together and pulling…

I will give somewhat of a similar answer but I will try to add a few bits of new information. We have an advanced system of skills provision in our country, whether you look at the success of our secondary school system and the Department of Education, our further education and training facilities or our higher education. We also know, however, that we cannot be complacent. No one owes this country a living. No one owes any of us a living. We can never stand still. A phrase we like to use when talking about skills …

The short answer is "Yes". We have a good pipeline of graduates and apprentices. One of the decisions taken by Government and by my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in recent weeks and months - providing certainty of funding for construction and public investment in construction for the years ahead - can provide an assurance to people looking to work in construction that there will be work, jobs and well-paid jobs in this sector not just this year or next year, but right through fo…

I am satisfied that we are beginning to make progress, but I am not satisfied that we are there yet, to be truthful. We need Youthreach to be much more prominent as an option for young people who have difficulty with school for a whole variety of reasons. We need to help them get to Youthreach, be made aware of it and have a better understanding of it. We need to get real about adult literacy. We live in a knowledge-based economy of well-educated people, but nearly one in five of us cannot read, nearly one in four …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 89, 98, 100, 102 and 132 together. I thank the Deputy for the question on housing and student accommodation. The first thing this Government must and will do is to be honest that we need a new and better model for student accommodation. Yes, we have seen the supply - and I can ream off statistics - of purpose-built private student accommodation significantly increase, but that is not the point. We have not seen a pipeline of significant scale of college-owned affordable accommodatio…

First, we are looking at all options across the range. All colleges need to see the provision of accommodation as a core component of what they need to do, because otherwise, a lack of it will become an issue in terms of participation in education. In fairness to them, institutes of technology and technological universities, until the publication of Housing for All in recent weeks, were not allowed or enabled to borrow to build accommodation. In the Deputy's own neck of the woods, I think there is huge potential fo…

The short answer is "Yes". We came together on an Oireachtas cross-party basis on legislation passed by the Minister of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to ban that practice, so that no renter, student or otherwise, can now be asked to pay more than one month's rent plus a deposit. It was a huge issue that USI and others were highlighting last year. Students were wrongly being asked to pay, four, five or six months' rent in one go. I am pleased to say that we have made legislative provision to outlaw that. No…

I thank the Acting Chair. I note her personal interest in the topic. It is great that we are having a debate in Seanad Éireann, as well as last night in Dáil Éireann, on the issue of Science Week. We may use this debate as a catalyst or launch point to have a conversation about science in general, research in science, policymaking, and the work that we do as well. I thank Senators for scheduling this debate. I will be sharing time with my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, who will be here for …

There is still time left for other counties to catch up. When we look to the future, it is important to look at our research past as well. Ireland has for many years played its part in advancing the breadth of human knowledge in creating new technologies that have had an international impact. One notable person is Ellen Hutchins of Cork, who was Ireland’s first female botanist. Her name is still carried by so many of the plants that she studied. Another of those innovators was Father Nicholas Callan, a professor of…

I am pleased to open this debate to mark Science Week 2021 in Ireland. I thank the Business Committee for scheduling the debate and Deputy Naughten for suggesting it. We are debating science in the Dáil this week and it will be debated in the Seanad tomorrow, which I welcome. This week is about highlighting, in particular, the importance of science in regard to climate action, as negotiations begin to come to a conclusion, we hope, at the United Nations COP26 conference. It is fair to say that the outcome of that c…

Absolutely.

I thank the Deputy raising the matter and for his tireless work, leadership and advocacy on this matter. I was pleased to join him and colleagues from across the south east on Tuesday when we announced very clearly that the technological university for the south east will open its doors by 1 May. After decades of debate, discussion and at times uncertainty and disagreement, we now have a very clear pathway forward. The train is leaving the station. The south east will have a technological university next year. I am…

In returning to the question of what is a technological university, and I shared some of my views in my initial answer, I would also make the point that the answer must also partially reside in the region, because while Dublin, the Government or the Oireachtas can grant technological university status and is happy to do so, and we have a responsibility in capital funding, policies and efforts we can put in place, it is a partnership approach and it cannot be an adversarial approach of, "What are they doing for us u…

I thank the Senator for inviting me to the Chamber. I will begin as he did by remarking on the importance of yesterday's announcement of a technological university for the south east. I thank the Senator for his support and leadership on this matter. As chair of the cross-party group of Oireachtas Members from the south east, he convened Members from all political persuasions a number of times to engage with me. I found that helpful in reaching this point and working through issues in the interests of the region as…

I am straddling a line between wanting to be transparent and helpful and respecting my constitutional obligations. Let me say this - I am recognising on the floor of the Seanad that the structures that are in place need to evolve and change. I am certainly not saying that the status quo should continue. There needs to be an evolution of the structures. The world is a different place than it was in 2012. Our country is a different place and its needs are different. I passionately believe that our future economic and…

I thank Senator Cummins for his work, leadership and dedication in delivering this project, along with his colleagues across the south east. I know this is an issue that he has personally prioritised and given a lot of time to. I hate to think of the conversation we would be having had we not got to this point, considering the degree to which the Senator banged on my door to ensure Waterford and the south east were no longer neglected in terms of a lack of university presence in the south-east region. I join the Se…

My comments on the HQ are as they are but the bigger win and the bigger prize here for Waterford and the south east is the establishment of a technological university, the status that will bring to the region, the opportunities that will provide for increasing foreign direct investment, capital investment, research funding, international recognition and becoming a catalyst in a region that sometimes feels it has been left behind for development and socioeconomic progression and innovation. We sometimes throw words …

I thank the Acting Chairperson.

I thank the Deputy for her kind wishes, which I sincerely appreciate. I thank her also for raising this extremely important issue. At the outset, while it is a statement of the obvious, it is important to say that a lot of the issues affecting students are part of the broader housing challenges that we face as a society, and these are challenges the Government is committed to resolving. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is leading on our behalf with our new Housing for All strategy, which involves all Governmen…

I do not wish the Deputy in any way to think my language is not strong enough in regard to Mr. Keegan’s comments because I find them absolutely reprehensible, I really do. It shows a real failure to understand the serious challenge that people are facing. It also shows complete and utter disrespect to students. The Deputy and I might not agree on everything but what we do agree on is working with students on a number of issues, and we have made progress on some matters. If we are to find solutions to these things, …