Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 March 2022
425. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the efforts being made to ensure the availability of an adequate supply of graduates at third and fourth-level in order to attract inward investment here in the specialised areas of medical science; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13099/22]
View answerThere are a number of key strategies in place at all levels to ensure we meet existing and future skills demands, including in the area of medical science. These include policies designed to ensure a pipeline of suitably qualified science and technical graduates, and initiatives to equip young people and the working population more generally with the skills and capacity to meet these demands. These strategies and initiatives include: the National Skills Strategy 2025; Technology Skills 2022; Springboard+; the Human Capital Initiative and the July Stimulus package. Some of the courses funded under Springboard+ in 2021/22 were in areas such as biopharmaceutical manufacturing and processing, medical technologies and biomedical engineering.
The number of students studying STEM at third level has been growing, with the number of yearly graduates in the field of natural sciences, mathematics and statistics increasing by almost 1,500 between 2015 and 2020, from 5,220 to 6,710. My Department will continue to engage with the Department of Education on their STEM Education Policy Statement to ensure that learners are given every opportunity to engage with the sciences, and ensure that pipeline of suitably qualified medical science graduates is maintained.
