I fully agree with the Deputy. We are seeing a theme, and I say this in a constructive sense, in the parliamentary questions today, which is the delivery of public services. A number of Government strategies and the like commit to making improvements in very important areas, but will require us to produce more people to work and be trained in those areas. I will say two things, honestly. First, there will obviously be a lead-in time for training. For example, for someone working in psychiatry we are talking about a…

I thank the Deputy for putting the spotlight on this very important issue. From my perspective as Minister, in the last three or four weeks I had a very good meeting with Bodywhys, the eating disorders organisation. We had a very important conversation about how we prepare our services and colleges for students returning to campus. We will come to questions about that shortly. We have seen a very significant increase in mental health challenges, anxiety, stress and, no doubt, eating disorders as a result of the pan…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. On foot of this question, I have specifically asked my Department to engage with me directly and with the HEA on this matter. I assure the Deputy that my Department is committed to the implementation of the Official Languages Act and the provision of Irish language services to its customers. The Official Languages (Amendment) Bill 2019 is of high importance to Ireland and the life of the language in this country. It will ensure that Irish speakers can interact with the Go…

The Deputy may have a fair idea of the answer to his question. It is always a good question to ask. There are around 200,000 students enrolled in higher education in Ireland now, which is up from 20,000 in 1971. I take the Deputy's point. However, I would also make the point that the figure of 73 does not tell the full story in any way, manner or means. I think he would agree with me on that. The Deputy is a passionate advocate for our official language. He makes a very interesting point about the development, prog…

I will not give the Deputy the date and the time of the meeting but I will certainly give him the month. I would be very happy to meet with him on this matter in the month of June. He should have his office contact mine today and I am sure we can identify a date and time, put that date in the diary for June and engage on the issue. As regards specific engagements, I do not have all my Department's meeting schedules in front of me but I have no doubt that, as my response stated, my Department stands fully ready to d…

The Deputy's reference to the European Union only works because Northern Ireland is not currently in the European Union. A third level student in Northern Ireland today will pay £4,530 a year and will have to meet that cost in full through student loans. I just checked the conversion rate today and that means students in Northern Ireland pay fees of €5,247 every year. If Northern Ireland was still in the European Union the question would need to be altered. However, I do take very seriously the point the Deputy mak…

I tend not to be overly partisan and I do not mean to be overly argumentative, but I think the comparison I made with the situation in Northern Ireland is fair. I state that because Northern Ireland is a devolved administration. I have no political jurisdiction in Northern Ireland. The Scottish First Minister managed to abolish fees. When is Sinn Féin, in government in Northern Ireland, going to do the same? Where is the commitment to doing that? When is that going to be delivered? The Department of Education in th…

Deputy Conway-Walsh and I are both committed to working on an all-island basis. I am very much committed to working with the Deputy in that regard. Nicola Sturgeon, however, did not tell the people of Scotland that she had to wait for Scottish independence to do what she did concerning fees. Deputy Conway-Walsh is asking me a question, but I am wondering when Sinn Féin, in government in Northern Ireland, is going to address the issue of Irish people on the island of Ireland having to pay €5,247 a year, deferring th…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, as he has done on a number of occasions. I want to assure him that like the whole of Government, I am absolutely committed to a significant increase in on-site attendance in the further and higher education sectors in the next academic year. We all know the reasons why students have had to attend online this year. They have been well rehearsed and based on public health evidence. However, we are also aware that it cannot be repeated. It is not a sustainable situation to b…

I am a major proponent of at least trying rapid testing. It would be weird if the Minister responsible for research and science was not, given that the chief scientific adviser to our country and to me and Science Foundation Ireland are so clear in relation to this matter. I simply think that we do not have anything to lose by trying it, particularly as a surveillance method. I very much take the points that our medical experts and doctors make. As the Deputy said, rapid testing is not PCR testing. No one is sugges…

I thank the Deputy for his question and for continually raising this most important matter. Our further and higher education and research systems represent a critical national asset. That is how they need to be seen. They are a critical national asset which can support the future economic and societal success of our citizens. Increasingly, the battle to live in and create a country that has economic and social cohesion is going to be dependent on the talent and the ingenuity of our people and supporting and investi…

The short answer is that there are a couple of ways. We have the National Skills Council, which comprises leaders in the public service and industry leaders. That is the national umbrella structure through which we identify and pursue the skills needs of the country. Crucially, we have regional skills fora, and the Minister of State and I have been meeting with them across the country, which bring together the education providers, such as the college, university and the ETB, and the local employers to discuss what …

Yes, even in a small country like Ireland there are differences in the regions. When I met the south east regional skills forum, it referred to the fact that it had engineering jobs that needed to be filled. What does one do? One brings together the local college, local ETB and local employers to find how to provide more courses in the region for that. I can provide the Deputy with more detail, but there are differences from region to region even in a small country. The Deputy's point about diversification and the …

That is not an oversight. The Bill relates specifically to how the Higher Education Authority will interact with the institutions, but I am happy to examine that with the Deputy in the pre-legislative scrutiny. Postgraduate programmes comprise a range of elements designed to further the training and development of students. PhD students, in addition to conducting research, participate in other activities, including teaching, to develop generic and transferable skills. A range of activities can be included under the…

The Deputy got me back for my comments on the last question. On the issue of precarious employment, I addressed the Irish Federation of University Teachers annual conference virtually last week and I specifically highlighted how we intend to address precarious employment as part of our discussion on sustainable funding. As we invest more in higher education, and it is an investment, it is only right and proper that the State expects more in terms of decent employment contracts being issued. That is a fair point. Wi…

I certainly will do that and I fully agree with the Deputy in that regard. I have had some engagement with PhD researchers with disabilities and I would be happy to intensify that contact and do more. I thank the Deputy for acknowledging the fact that we have increased the stipend. That is a signal of intent and wanting to do more on research, which requires more researchers and an attractive and decent place for researchers to carry out their work. We have also increased SUSI supports for postgraduate students. Th…

I thank the Deputy and acknowledge her support and advocacy for the importance of a technological university for the north west, an issue that is also of concern to Deputy Conway-Walsh. I need to be careful in what I say because I understand a ballot of the Teachers' Union of Ireland, TUI, is about to conclude but, without pre-empting any outcomes of any ballots, I am hopeful that I will shortly receive an application for a technological university for the north west, the Connacht-Ulster Alliance application, in th…

I am certainly not being coy about the timeline for the application and what the Deputy has said tallies with what I know but I want to be respectful of the process. As soon as we receive the application, we will move quickly. I have had some excellent meetings with representatives of St. Angela's, including the president, and with the president of Sligo IT and others. I welcome the close work that is going on between the two institutions. Quite frankly, I think St. Angela's has been left hanging for far too long. …

I will be careful in answering that question because of the sensitivities involved. Staff engagement and buy-in to these processes are vital. The Deputy is factually correct that, in the south east, the TUI ballot did not pass in Waterford but did pass in Carlow and the application was still submitted by the consortium. That would, ultimately, be a decision for the governing authorities as it relates to any technological university. That is an open question. We will certainly proceed on a cross-party basis. It has …

I am committed to the GMIT campus in Castlebar. Under this plan for a technological university for the north west, Castlebar will become a university town and that is a massive prize for the people of Castlebar and County Mayo. It will be important for regional growth and development, and perhaps also for keeping young people in the regions. The Government has given a commitment, under New Decade, New Approach, to the Magee campus, as has the British Government. Being honest, we now need concrete proposals as to wh…