Written Answers Nos. 547-562
547. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the dates in 2023 that he has visited Dublin City University; the purpose of each visit; and when he is next scheduled to visit DCU. [14989/23]
View answerMy most recent visit to Dublin City University was on Friday 03/03/2023 to launch the DCU report "Community Needs Analysis with FET students: thoughts around progression from FET to HE" and to attend the DCU FET Open Day. We also discussed student accommodation on that visit. There are currently no other invitations to visit DCU with my office for consideration. However, I did meet the President of DCU as part of an IUA delegation recently.
548. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if assistance is available to a single parent who is studying part-time and working part-time; and if there is a payment that persons on low income who are studying to improve their situation can avail of. [15010/23]
View answerThe main support available to assist students with the cost of attending higher education is the Student Grant Scheme. Under the Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to eligible students attending an approved full-time course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the centralised student grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) to determine.
At present, the student grant scheme is targeted at full-time students. Courses that are part-time, less than two years in duration, conducted online or as distance courses or which lead to a special purpose or distance award are not currently approved for the purposes of the Student Grant Scheme.
However, I have been consistent in my position that we need to develop our student support system over time to ensure that it supports more flexible forms of learning. This will particularly benefit more disadvantaged learners, as recognised in the National Access Plan.
The issue of potentially expanding part-time delivery of tertiary education in Ireland is a complex one and significant planning will need to be conducted at both national and institution level to manage the significant supply-side impacts on educational institutions. Through the Funding the Future policy, Government has recognised that supporting part-time, blended and postgraduate learning could potentially transform access to learning in the medium term, once existing reform commitments are embedded within the sector.
I have established a steering group to support the implementation of the Funding the Future reform framework. I chair this group alongside Professor Anne Looney and Professor Tom Collins, which is supported by two working groups comprising representatives of institutions, students, trade unions and employers. The working group focused on skills, participation and cost is currently examining the potential to support students to avail of more flexible learning opportunities.
I would expect that this working group will provide their consideration of these issues in the coming months. Having regard to this initial assessment, my Department will then examine whether there are priority areas that can form part of the consideration of Budget 2024, particularly with respect to supporting disadvantaged and under-represented learners.
Students in publicly funded third-level institutions experiencing exceptional financial difficulty can apply for support under the Student Assistance Fund. I have recently announced an additional €4.3 million to be allocated to SAF to assist students with the cost of living. This was in addition to the €8m that was allocated in Budget 2023. This brings the total allocation for the Student Assistance Fund for the 22/23 academic year to over €20 million, which is the highest amount that has ever been provided under this fund. The HEA will distribute funding of over €4.3m to the HEIs in early 2023.
This Fund assists students in a sensitive and compassionate manner, who might otherwise be unable to continue their third level studies due to their financial circumstances. It is open to both full and part-time registered students on courses of not less than one year's duration leading to an undergraduate or postgraduate qualification. Information on the fund is available through the Access Officer in the third level institution attended. This fund is administered on a confidential, discretionary basis. More information on the SAF is available at www.studentfinance.ie.
549. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the financial supports available to a US student with an Irish passport who wishes to complete her third-level studies in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15034/23]
View answerUnder the terms of the Student Grant Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means.
With regard to the residency criterion, in order to be eligible for a grant, a "student", as defined in Section 14 of the Student Support Act 2011, must demonstrate that he/she has been resident in the State for at least three years out of the five year period ending on the day before the start of his/her approved course of study. This rule is applied equally to everyone, regardless of their individual circumstances. It has, for example, been applied to refugees and Irish citizens returning from periods working abroad.
The three out of five year rule takes cognisance of students who wish to take time out to travel or work abroad. Such students can still meet the residency requirement if they have not been outside the State for more than two of the previous five years. It is worth pointing out that similar and in some cases more restrictive residency criteria apply in other member States e.g. in the UK a student has to be resident for the three years immediately preceding his/her commencement in college.It is also possible for a student who did not meet the residency requirement at the start of their studies to meet it during the course of their studies and become eligible for a student grant for the following academic year, provided they meet all other criteria of the Student Grant Scheme.
550. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the position regarding any initiatives targeted at assisting Ukrainian refugees to convert their employment qualification certificates or academic degrees to be recognised in an Irish context, and other measures that would assist in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15037/23]
View answerThe Irish Government is committed to providing every support possible to Ukrainian people seeking the recognition of their qualifications in Ireland. The academic and professional recognition of qualifications can enable Ukrainians based in Ireland to pursue employment opportunities, to practice their professions of choice or to avail of new educational opportunities. The recognition of qualifications falls into two broad categories depending on how the individual plans to use their qualification.
Professional Qualification Recognition
Where a profession is unregulated, there is no formal barrier to continuing to practice that profession in Ireland. However, where a profession is regulated, such as the profession of dentist, nurse or doctor, an individual wishing to continue to practice their profession in Ireland must engage with the relevant Irish Competent Authority or professional regulator in order to seek the recognition of their qualifications. In these cases, the Competent Authority assesses foreign qualifications against the established Irish regulatory standard to ensure the holder has the specialised skills and competencies that are required to practice that profession in Ireland.
A list of regulated professions in Ireland, their corresponding competent authority and the relevant contact information for each authority is available on the Gov.ie website: www.assets.gov.ie/224329/d51af586-f4dc-449f-a6a7-e4406c4dddeb.pdf. Many of these authorities have already reached out to engage with the Ukrainian community and have published dedicated material on their websites to assist Ukrainians who are now seeking to practice in Ireland.
My Department has been providing ongoing critical support to the work of these authorities by sharing best practice material supplied by the European Commission on the recognition of Ukrainian professional qualifications. In June 2022 I wrote to all Ministers with responsibility for regulated professions to ensure that every effort is being made to facilitate the recognition of Ukrainian qualifications.
My Department has also provided material on qualification recognition to the Department of Social Protection, a number of NGOs and the Ukrainian Embassy to ensure this information is readily available support displaced Ukrainians.
Academic Recognition of Qualifications
NARIC (National Academic Recognition Information Centre) Ireland, hosted by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), provides advice, free of charge, on the recognition of foreign academic qualifications in Ireland and their comparable level on the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). An individual can download a comparability statement from the following link which compares the academic qualification to a level on the NFQ: www.qsearch.qqi.ie/WebPart/Search?searchtype=recognitions.
The QQI NARIC database currently lists 21 Ukrainian qualifications including general professional, further education and higher education qualifications comparable to awards at level 3-10 on the NFQ. NARIC Ireland is working with the NARIC network across Europe to continue building the list of Ukrainian qualifications. Where NARIC receives a request for the recognition of a previously unlisted qualification, once it is assessed, it is added to the list of published qualifications. The NARIC Guide has been translated into Ukrainian. The Guide is also available in Polish, English and Russian. The NARIC service also helps to inform employers to determine if an applicant holds the academic qualifications necessary for a particular job or employment opportunity.
551. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the status of the University of Limerick's proposed new veterinary school (details supplied); if he has received a report from the HEA expert panel concerning the relative capacities of UL for the provision of extra veterinary training places; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15226/23]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, the Higher Education Authority is close to concluding a process to identify where additional capacity could be built in the higher education sector in a number of key disciplines including veterinary. Through the process, the HEA is examining opportunities for new programme provision as well as the expansion of current programmes, and will determine a final list of options.
The HEA appointed an Expert Advisory Panel to review new programme proposals. The panel included representatives of the Veterinary Council of Ireland, the statutory body responsible for the regulation of veterinary medicine in Ireland, and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The Deputy will understand that, before making any determinations regarding additional places on existing or new programmes, my Department must first consider potential options having regard to workforce plans and projected demand for graduates from relevant line Departments. As such, on receiving recommendations from the HEA, I will engage with my colleague the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in relation to his Department's assessment of the scale of the demand for veterinary graduates.
As this process is independent, and I am yet to receive recommendations from it, the Deputy will understand that I am not in a position at this stage to comment on any particular higher education institution's submission.
I look forward to receiving the final report of options from the HEA for my Department to review in the coming days.
552. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if a prospective student (details supplied) who is resident in Ireland, and whose deceased stepfather was an Irish citizen, satisfies the nationality condition for eligibility for the "free fees" scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15258/23]
View answerThe assessment of eligibility under the Free Fees Initiative (FFI) in individual cases is a matter for each higher education institution to determine within the terms of the scheme and it is not possible for my Department to advise individual students on eligibility. It is therefore necessary for students to contact the institution attended for guidance on the fees applicable to a course of study appropriate to their own individual circumstances.
Notwithstanding the above, I can advise that, under the Free Fees Initiative, full time undergraduate students may be eligible to have their tuition fees, exclusive of the student contribution, paid on their behalf. In order to qualify for support under the Free Fees Initiative, students must meet the criteria of the scheme including the nationality/citizenship requirements in their own right.
To meet nationality/citizenship requirements, the student must hold inter alia EU/EEA/Swiss/UK nationality or certain permissions to reside in the state as granted through the Department of Justice, for example a person with official refugee status. The immigration residency permissions included under the Free Fees Initiative are those that convey rights upon persons to access education on the same basis as Irish or EU citizens. Additional information on the nationality criteria is available at the following link: hea.ie/funding-governance-performance/funding/student-finance/course-fees/. A stamp 4 permission, in its own right, does not provide for a person to meet the eligibility criteria of the Free Fees Initiative.
553. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science when students in MTU were told they need to work two years in the field after graduation for their qualification to be recognised. [15327/23]
View answer554. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the way graduates in 2024 and 2025 and in subsequent years are expected by MTU to gain two years’ employment in the field before the grandparenting process closes in November 2025, if MTU Cork does not secure CORU approval. [15328/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 553 and 554 together.
Regulation is being introduced into the Social Care profession for the first time.
Higher Education Institutions are currently working with the regulator CORU in relation to their accreditation applications.
The specific information requested by the Deputy is not held by the Department and has been sought from MTU. Once a response has been received this information can be sent to the Deputy.
555. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science when he expects the election of the University of Limerick Governing Authority to take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15500/23]
View answerIn line with the provisions of the Higher Education Authority Act 2022 which commenced in November 2022, I granted approval to the extension of the current University of Limerick (UL) Governing Authority's term of office for a period of 6 months, up to 31st May 2023.
My Department is currently engaging with the University in relation to the regulations required under the legislation relating to the selection, election, nomination or appointment of members of the governing authority, to achieve the reduction to a 19-member Governing Body which is required to be in place by 9th November 2023. That process will then allow for UL to appoint members to the new governing authority.
556. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science hen he expects the election of the NUI Senate to take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15501/23]
View answerThe Senate of the National University of Ireland (NUI) consists of 38 members in accordance with amendments made to the Charter of the NUI via the Universities Act 1997. Section 45 of the Universities Act 1997 amended the provisions in the Charter of the NUI regarding the composition of the Senate to provide that the NUI Senate would comprise:
- the Chancellor and Registrar of the NUI and the chief officers of its four constituent universities;
- 4 persons nominated by the Government, 2 of whom shall be women and 2 men (Section 45 (2)(b) of the Act);
- 4 persons elected by each of the four constituent universities;
- 8 members of Convocation elected by Convocation of the University, 4 of whom shall be women and 4 men; (under the provisions of the original Charter, Convocation of the National University of Ireland consists of the Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, the Members of Senate, the Professors and Lecturers and the Graduates of the University)
- not more than 4 persons co-opted by the Senate.
I understand that the process to appoint a new Senate (other than the Government nominees whose terms of office end in November 2023) is now complete and the term of office of the current Senate runs until 31 October 2027.
My Department has also recently completed a separate process to fill one of the four Senate positions nominated by the Government. The Government has recently approved the nomination and the successful applicant has been notified.
557. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice if consultation has been undertaken with the Ombudsman for Children in relation to the proposed Sale of Alcohol Bill. [15373/23]
View answerFollowing extensive consultation with representative bodies in the licensed trade, businesses, public health bodies, consumers and communities, the General Scheme of the Sale of Alcohol Bill was published on the 25th of October. It marks the Government’s commitment to the reform and streamlining of licensing laws to support and stimulate the night time economy.
On 25 November 2021, Minister McEntee launched a public consultation to seek the views of the public on the modernisation of Ireland’s licencing laws.
The consultation, which ran until 21 January 2022, looked at how best to update the existing laws governing the sale and regulation of alcohol in Ireland. Members of the public, academics, sectoral groups and representative organisations were invited to complete an online survey and/or make a written submission to the Department. There was a high level of response to the consultation, with in excess of 5,000 responses received. Submissions were received from alcohol-related harm advocacy groups as part of the consultation.
The Department reviewed these responses to ensure the reform of the legislation takes account of and is informed by this engagement. A report on the responses received together with a selection of the submissions were published on 7 November 2022.
On 10 March 2022, Minister McEntee also hosted a consultation webinar and panel discussion event on reform of the alcohol licensing laws to give an opportunity for further discussion of the issues of concern to stakeholders.
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice conducted two pre-legislative scrutiny sessions on the draft legislation, the first on 24 January 2023 and the second on January 31 2023. Academics, sectoral groups and representative organisations were invited to contribute to these sessions. Representatives from Alcohol Action Ireland, the Institute of Public Health and the Irish Community Action of Alcohol Network took part in the second of the pre-legislative scrutiny sessions. The Committee published their report on 2 March 2023.
The Bill will maintain the prohibition on the sale of alcohol to children; to do so will be a criminal offence. The Bill will also restrict the access of children to licensed premises, and provide a full range of enforcement powers to An Garda Síochána.
Specific consultation has not been undertaken with the Ombudsman for Children. However, officials in the Department of Justice continue to engage with various public and voluntary health bodies.
558. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice if he will provide details of all procurement competitions, if any, in which companies (details supplied) won contracts from his Department since 2016. [14728/23]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that none of the companies in question were awarded any procurement contracts by my Department in the time specified.
559. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the total costs of accommodation and travel expenses associated with his recent foreign trip, or foreign trips by Ministers for State at his Department, for St. Patrick’s Day; and if a breakdown can be provided on travel costs, accommodation costs, country or state visited, number of departmental staff accompanying him, and the duration of the trip, in tabular form. [14746/23]
View answerAs I trust the Deputy will appreciate, St Patrick’s Day offers an opportunity to promote Ireland abroad and is an important part of the government’s ‘Global Ireland’ strategy which seeks to promote our country as an outstanding location to live, visit, work, invest in, trade with, and study.
Due to my dual responsibilities, costs incurred for my St. Patrick's Day trip were shared by my two Departments. The Department of Justice does not yet the full details requested. However, this information will be compiled shortly.
The information requested by the Deputy that is available is set out in the table below.
|
Minister |
State/Country visited |
Number of Dept. Staff Accompanying |
Duration |
Cost of Accommodation |
Cost of Travel |
|
Minister Harris |
USA and Canada |
1 |
7 days |
To be compiled |
To be compiled |
|
Minister Browne |
Jordan and Cyprus |
2 |
8 days |
€4,488.18 |
€3,038.88 |
560. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Justice if he will detail the criteria used in the appointment process in relation to the Firearms Expert Committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14754/23]
View answerI can advise the Deputy, the Firearms Expert Committee (FEC) was made up of five members: an independent Chairperson, a representative of An Garda Síochána, a representative of the Department of Justice, and two non-governmental Ordinary Members having experience of firearms. This structure was chosen to give balanced representation to both governmental and non-governmental stakeholders.
On 31 March, 2022, expressions of interest were sought from suitably qualified candidates for appointment to the Firearms Expert Committee. This call was published on the Department of Justice’s website and shared with various stakeholder organisations. The call for expressions of interest was administered by officials from the Criminal Justice Policy function of the Department of Justice which also acts as the Secretariat to the Committee. Appointment to the Committee was conducted in line with the process advised in the expressions of interest document.
In total, 14 applications were received for the position of Chairperson and 34 for the positions of Ordinary Member. Given the number of well-qualified applicants, I requested that shortlists of candidates be prepared for final consideration. These shortlists were prepared by assessing applications against the suitability indicators listed in the expression of interest document. After careful consideration, I then selected the candidates for appointment from these shortlists.
Following the selection process for appointment to the Committee, Ms. Emma Meagher Neville was selected for the position of Chairperson. Ms. Meagher Neville qualified as a solicitor in 1998 and is currently the Vice President of the Southern Law Association (SLA) and a Council member of the Law Society of Ireland. Mr. Paul Walsh and Mr. Fabian Connolly, both Registered Firearms Dealers with extensive experience in different types of shooting, were selected for the positions of Ordinary Member. An Garda Síochána was represented on the Committee by Superintendent Emma Doyle (or her alternative, Inspector Paul Greene), who replaced the initial nominee Superintendent Brain Murphy in advance of the first meeting. Mr. John Guinane, the Firearms Range Inspector, was appointed to represent the Department.
The Firearms Expert Committee was established to serve in an advisory capacity on firearms matters. Its terms of reference, which are publicly available, are comprehensive, including to carry out an assessment of all types of firearms to determine their current use under the existing licensing system and their suitability for future licensing.
I can advise the Deputy that the final meeting of the FEC took place on 3 March, 2023, and that the Committee has now finalised its reports. The reports will be submitted to me imminently and it is my intention to publish them shortly after this, along with the minutes of its meetings. As I have emphasised throughout the process, the role of the FEC was to make recommendations to me for subsequent consideration. Any subsequent changes to policy or legislation arising from any of the recommendations by the committee will of course be subject to prior consultation with the relevant stakeholders.
561. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Justice if he will provide an update on the work of his Department concerning the disregard scheme for historical convictions in relation to gay and bisexual men; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14755/23]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, a progress report from the Working Group to Examine the Disregard of Convictions for Certain Qualifying Offences Related to Consensual Sexual Activity between Men was published on Thursday, 5 May 2022 by Minister Helen McEntee.
The Victorian-era laws which were repealed by the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 caused immeasurable harm to generations of gay and bisexual men, criminalising and stigmatizing them simply because of their sexual orientation.
I am conscious that nearly 30 years later, the damage that was caused by these laws continues to impact negatively on too many people’s lives. While this harm can never be fully undone, I am strongly committed to bringing to Government and publishing a scheme to disregard convictions for qualifying offences prior to decriminalisation in 1993.
Since the publication of the Progress Report in May last, work has been ongoing to progress all of the next steps in the report, including the development of resources to enable an effective and accessible public consultation. This public consultation was launched on 4 November 2022 and closed on 9 December 2022.
I want to ensure that any potential scheme is as effective and accessible as possible so that we can exonerate those impacted by these outdated laws and address some of the lingering harms of the past.
As part of the consultation, affected persons and representative organisations were asked to provide input on a number of key issues, based on their lived experience. Their responses will inform the final recommendations of the Working Group who are examining the development of a scheme to disregard convictions for consensual sexual activity between men prior to decriminalisation in 1993.
One hundred and forty-eight (148) submissions from individuals, LGBTQI+ representative organisations, other non-governmental organisations, trade unions and political parties and representatives were received. Their responses will inform the final recommendations of the Working Group.
A Consultation Summary Report has been drafted and is currently with the Working Group for review. The most recent meeting of the Working Group took place on 23 March 2023 to inform the final recommendations related to the key issues explored in the Consultation. The next meeting of the Working Group is planned for 13 April 2023.
I can inform the Deputy that pending this meeting and receipt of input from Working Group members, the final report and recommendations of the Working Group will be drafted and submitted for my approval. I can also inform the Deputy that this will occur as early in Q2 2023 as is practical.
562. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the current backlog of the number of marriage vias appeals; and the timeframe by which an appeal (details supplied) would expect to be processed. [14767/23]
View answerThe visa application referred to by the Deputy was refused by the Visa Office in Dublin on 10 August 2022. The reasons for this decision were set out in the refusal letter sent to the applicant at that time. An appeal of this decision was launched on 10 October 2022.
Appeals for applications of this type are processed in the order in which they are received, to be fair to all applicants. While every effort is made to process these applications as soon as possible, processing times will vary having regard to the volume of appeals received, their complexity, the possible need for the visa office to seek further information in relation to certain appeals and the resources available to process them.
All visa applicants are advised that the onus is on them to provide as much information in support of their application as they feel is necessary. Guidelines in this regard are posted on the Immigration Service website. When making an appeal, the applicant should take into account the reasons for refusal listed in the refusal letter. The appeal should include any further information or additional documentation they wish to have considered, and should be sent for the attention of the Visa Appeals Officer, in the relevant Visa Office, where the matter will be considered afresh.
Full consideration will be given to any appeals received on behalf of the applicants, however the onus is on applicants to satisfy the Visa Officer that visas should be granted. Processing times and decisions at the Overseas Visa Offices can be checked at the webpage for the relevant office.
A Marriage Visa is considered for a Short stay only and it is expected that the visa required national will return to their normal place of residence before the expiry of their visa. If it is the intention of the person referred to enter the state and continue to reside here, then they should apply for a D Type - Join Family visa application.
The following pages on the Irish Immigration website may be of some assistance:
www.irishimmigration.ie/coming-to-join-family-in-ireland/
www.irishimmigration.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Policy-document-on-Non-EEA-family-reunification.pdf
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility (inisoireachtasmail@justice.ie), which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
