Vol. 1085 No. 4
156. Deputy Tony McCormack asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the way his Department is aligning higher education courses with current and projected skills shortages in Ireland; if he will provide details of any new initiatives in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34803/26]
As the Minister knows, the jobs requirements by companies are very fluid at the moment, especially with the introduction of AI. What steps are being taken to ensure that higher education courses are aligned with current and projected skills shortages, and will with Minister make a statement on it, please?
I thank the Deputy very much. He mentioned AI and skills shortages and understanding the new trends that are emerging in higher education and across training our graduates and, indeed, our apprentices. That is an absolute priority for me and the Department. We are doing a lot of work on skills and identifying skills needs and skills gaps, working through SOLAS, the National Skills Council, the expert group on future skills needs and other groups and agencies. I have done a couple of things in recent times. One is that we have set up the national skills observatory, which is data driven and, effectively, a database for the State to be able to plug in searches and see what patterns have emerged in terms of job vacancies, job advertisements, skills needs and employer reports. That would be a real-time engine to see what skills employers are seeking and, indeed, what is on the move and what is going in the other direction.
I have also commenced a series of skills round-tables, where I bring together employers from different sectors along with the training agencies, SOLAS, the HEA, the ETBI and the different higher education institute and university associations. That conversation I am having will, at the next event on the 27th of this month, focus on construction skills. The Minister, Deputy Browne, and Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, are joining me for that as well. We will be bringing the construction employers into the room and looking at the trades, apprentices, engineers, architects, town planners, etc., and asking whether they are receiving the skills, graduates and competencies they as employers require from the training system and skills system, especially at a time when construction of housing is our number one goal as a Government and, indeed, more broadly across infrastructure, building out our railways, grids, ports and energy supply. We have a huge construction challenge, so it is particularly timely. The next event I am planning for the month after will look at the impact of AI on the professional workforce, consultancy firms, accounting, legal firms and so on. That deep dive will bring employers around the table to have a solid engagement.
I welcome the focus on aligning higher education with current and projected skills shortages. Like the Minister said, it is about meeting with the industries to figure out what requirements are needed but also to find out and make sure that the courses we are providing at the moment are giving the students the proper skills when they actually finish those courses.
It is clear that artificial intelligence is now fundamentally changing the nature of work and the skills that will be required in the years ahead. Across every sector, whether it is healthcare, manufacturing, finance, education, agriculture or retail, AI and digital technologies are rapidly reshaping how businesses operate. Our education system must be agile enough to respond to the challenge and there is now a growing need not only for specialist AI and technology graduates, but also for broader digital literacy and adaptability across the workforce. At the same time as we embrace these new technologies, we also have to ensure we do not lose the core knowledge and fundamental skills on which industry will depend.
The Deputy is exactly right. One of the interesting outputs of the inaugural skills round-table I held about six weeks, which had the accommodation sectors at it, was that there was a common theme. Regardless of semiconductors, biosciences, pharmaceuticals or construction, there was a common theme. They said they want to be able to hire graduates, trainees and skilled workers who have broader skills, such as communication skills, teamwork skills and the ability to work on a team, analytical skills and strategic skills and the ability to make judgment calls on a particular set of facts. That is one thing the computer will never be able to replace - that human intuition and experience and that unique set of circumstances that has brought us all to where we are.
As I noted recently, there is a concern that some firms may be beginning to put a brake on graduate recruitment and might be thinking that AI can replace certain junior jobs. However, there is recognition that we need the senior people and experienced people in every organisation. If people stop hiring at the entry level, they never get to the experienced layer beyond that. It is something employers really need to take stock of.
I thank the Minister for his response. While AI presents enormous opportunities, there is also understandable concern among many workers and students about how it may affect future employment. I think it will actually increase employment, but it is important that our education system prepares people not just to adapt to technology change but benefit from it. Will the Minister outline what steps are being taken to ensure that students across all disciplines develop AI and digital skills while also maintaining the core fundamentals and professional knowledge that remain essential in the workforce?
There are a couple of things. I recently launched a website called aiready.ie. The Deputy might have tried it out. I urge anyone who has not already to do so. That website is specifically targeted at short AI familiarity skills. It is not necessarily building up to expert user level but building up an awareness of AI and how it works - how it can be used, for example, in a small business, for personal use, planning a holiday packing list, organising an event, etc. It is the intention that it will help with that. That is very much the first phase of it. That will ramp up over time, with multiple courses added to it. I am also working with my team to look at the micro-credentials delivered through Springboard+, Skillnet and similar courses to have a wider range of offerings, with greater subsidies available for learners who might want to take them up. Some might be in employment, some may wish to go independently, but I am looking at greater subvention of those courses to make them even more affordable than they already are. Those are two measures.
The Higher Education Authority has published guidelines around the use of AI in education to make sure that student competence is still coming through both in terms of testing but also in terms of the competencies and skills that are being taught to the student.
157. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the engagement he has had with University College Cork and Munster Technological University Cork on the housing crisis and the impact on student accommodation in Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34346/26]
I wish to ask about the Minister's engagement with University College Cork and the Munster Technological University in Cork on the housing crisis and the impact on student accommodation in Cork. This is something that has been spoken about at a consistent level by the Labour Party and by me and my colleagues, Senator Harmon, and an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, Deputy Sheehan.
I am aware of the Deputy's interest in this. I am pleased to be able to advise the Deputy that I have met the presidents of both UCC and MTU on a number of occasions. I have also visited both institutions on a number of occasions and, indeed, I will do so again this week.
I am very aware of how the supply and affordability of accommodation is impacting students in Cork and more generally across the country. That is one of the reasons I was very pleased to be able to publish the national student accommodation strategy, which sets out the pathway to make higher education more accessible by addressing two critical challenges. There are two pillars of that strategy, as the Deputy is probably aware. One is the viability challenge and incentivising the development at scale of student accommodation and large, high-quality student developments, ideally on campus lands or in and around campus. This will be supported through the strategy and through a number of measures within it. There is also a focus on affordability, with €176 million in new supports being placed in things like the maintenance grants for non-adjacent students and a range of other measures to make it somewhat more affordable for students to be able to pay their rents, effectively, in the different developments. Of course, both MTU and UCC have been engaged in that with me and my officials.
My Department held a briefing for both universities very recently to walk through the new student strategy and explain how that is going to work. Part of that is the extension of what was a TU, accommodation programme across the traditional universities and what we are calling the higher education institutions student accommodation programme, HSAP. That has been up and running now since we launched the strategy. I am pleased to advise the Deputy that there are three locations being targeted in the first wave, namely, Dublin, Galway and Cork. Cork is up and running already. We have had extensive engagement and we have had a number of inquiries coming in already.
That is going well. It is something I am keen to move on at all possible expedition to ensure we begin to deliver those much-needed beds for the students.
I appreciate that there have been developments in student accommodation. However, Cork, as a county with a huge university city, has the lowest proportion of public student accommodation beds available at 18%.
In February 2026, a report by Sherry FitzGerald showed that the State needs at least 38,900 beds to keep up with the demand. The report says that for every 13 students across the south-west region, which is inclusive of Cork and Kerry, there are ten beds, and that with roughly 30,300 students enrolled, there is a shortfall of approximately 9,900 beds. This report assumed that those living in their own counties do not avail of accommodation. We are taking that assumption that people from towns such as my own, Mallow, do not move up to Cork city, if they are attending UCC or the Munster Technological University, MTU, or any other further or higher education facility.
The significant shortfall is there. It is probably due to a lack of forward planning for many decades, within the former Department of Education more so that the newly formed Department of further and higher education. I understand that there has been progress but significant progress has to be made in Cork.
I totally agree with the Deputy. We need to see significant progress and we need to see it soon.
On the theme of progress, we saw 206 beds with a commencement notice issued only last month in Cork. There are 3,000 around the country since I launched the strategy approximately six weeks ago. Approximately 206 of those are in Cork, and they are badly needed. There are another 1,700 beds in Cork with planning granted which I hope will become viable through the strategy. There were a number of beds at sites around the country where planning was granted but where inquiries took place at the stage of planning. They were not progressing for various reasons. The strategy, as the Deputy knows, includes a number of viability levers to assist with that and move those on to construction and move those forward.
Additionally, there is planning permission in the system in Cork working its way through for another 500 beds already. Those are positive numbers to consider. That will provide an additional 2,200 beds when those come on stream. I expect there will be many more coming behind that with the new sites that are being identified. In addition to that, I should point to the beds available under the rent-a-room scheme - 926 beds for MTU Cork and 72 beds being offered at UCC at the moment.
In relation to what my colleague, Senator Harmon, has said in relation to the technological universities being allowed to borrow to build student accommodation, is it something that the Minister and the Department are taking seriously? There would be an appetite there from MTU.
In relation to private rented accommodation, we have had many debates across this House on private rental student accommodation, particularly in Cork city where a lot of the time, in a lot of the situations I have come across, the accommodation has been completely unsatisfactory. It is due to the fact that we have students in our county who are going to our colleges or further and higher education institutes and have been forced to go into these private rented accommodation settings because of the lack of publicly available student accommodation beds. While I appreciate that progress is being made on it, we have to move this on as quickly as possible. Will the Minister give an assurance to the House that technological universities, such as MTU, could borrow to build?
I am conscious of this and I have met all the technological universities, TUs, on it. It is a programme for Government commitment and it is one I have given effect to through the student accommodation strategy because the strategy includes provision for nomination agreements. Nomination agreements are technical arrangements, but they allow the technological university to take on a contingent liability upon its balance sheet which could be construed as a State liability. It is something that we are supporting through the student accommodation agreement. That has involved work with not only my Department but also the Departments of Finance and public expenditure. Those discussions have been ongoing with both Ministers. We have managed to secure within the accommodation strategy provision to do exactly that. That allows the technological universities to enter into agreements with providers to book out large blocks of beds in a long-term fashion in a way that commits them to expenditure in the long term that is a form of borrowing, but one that is done with full State support. That was an important measure that was called for. It is one I was keen to ensure was included in the strategy, which it is.
158. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his Department has carried out any analysis of university courses in which maximum leaving certificate points did not guarantee admission due to demand; if he will list the courses where this applied alongside the number of places available through the CAO for these courses; the number of places available for international students in those courses, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34562/26]
My question to the Minister is whether his Department has carried out an analysis of those university courses that have maximum or very high-level CAO points requirement for which some students who meet those points requirement are not successful because of random selection. Will he will list those courses that it will apply to, outline exactly how many places are on those courses and the number of places therein that are available for international students?
As the Deputy will be aware, under legislation, the Irish higher education institutions are autonomous in their decisions and the processes they follow in relation to admissions, and rightly so. They operate without political influence in terms of their admission criteria and enrolment.
Both public and private institutions, all use the CAO, which is well understood, to centrally process the applications for most undergraduate programmes. Further information on how that works, including statistics and data from previous years' offers, is all publicly available on the CAO website, if the Deputy wishes to refer to that. Based on publicly available data, my Department has identified the higher education courses where attaining the maximum points from the leaving certificate did not guarantee admission due to high demand. Where that happens, the CAO applies a system of random selection.
Going specifically to the Deputy's question as to how many courses did this happen in this year, there was one course where a student was denied entry because of random selection at 625 points. There was a second course but it was not on the first round; it was on the second round. All students on the first round that sought a place received a place. There was one course, that I am aware of, where this happened on the first round. That is the scenario there.
On the courses where it has happened, there is a pattern, if you look back over the past number of years, in terms of the courses that have a 625 points target and use random selection in the final rounds. These are dental science, management science and information systems, dentistry, management science and dental science. Going back over the past number of years, those were the courses. Obviously, there is a strong pattern.
Briefly, to talk about dental science and dentistry, since it is one of the courses where that has happened in recent years, I am adding another 35 dental beds or, I should say, "chairs", which is what we need for dental places, through the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, RCSI. I opened 20 of them in Sandyford earlier this year and a further 15 are coming on stream next year.
The Minister cannot finish an answer by claiming credit for providing extra places in courses when he started his reply by saying this has to be an autonomous-based system where there is no political interference because political decisions affect the number of places available on courses. I am sure the Minister will accept that.
Last year, we are told that entry to 25 undergraduate courses with high level points were determined by random selection. That means people secured very high points in their leaving certificate but were not able to secure their preferred choice because of random selection. Essentially, it was a lottery.
The Minister did not answer the question in respect of the number of international students. It is important that we get those answers because the Minister has been quoted as suggesting that some universities are gaming the system. If people are being denied places to courses in areas for which we have shortages in the State and universities are selling places in those courses to international students, that is a problem this House needs to be aware of and informed of.
I am just clarifying. The Deputy's question asked about the courses in which maximum leaving certificate points did not guarantee admission due to demand and he has moved on now to high-points courses. The difference between maximum and high-points is that it is a meritocracy. Rightly or wrongly, the CAO system awards courses on the basis of points. A student had maximum points and missed out on a place, which arose in one instance this year for a course that I mentioned. The other scenario I talked about is where the students that took up the course were students who had higher points than students who missed out. There were students who had the maximum points and students who had points less than that, ultimately, over descending order, until they got to the last place on the course. There were then two students who had the same points but they were not as high as other students who got into the course. One always, of course, feels sympathy for the student in that situation, but it is not the case that students on maximum points were displaced. It is students that did not get maximum points. Put simply, the students with the highest points got the places. In the case of students on lower points, at some point there was a cut-off. Unfortunately, some students missed out, but that is the way across any course in the entire CAO.
Is there a reason the Minister will not answer my question in relation to international students? I have asked it twice now and it was in the written question that was submitted.
Here is what we know. There are areas of speciality for which we have chronic shortages in many parts of this State.
Dentistry, as the Minister, mentioned is an obvious place. The Irish Dental Association has said that one of the issues is that in many courses which the State has provided for dentistry, a significant proportion of places are actually being sold by universities to international students. That is not a meritocracy. That is a problem that we need to address but we cannot address it unless we have the information. Can the Minister provide the information in respect of these vital courses? I accept it is important that there is an element of international students but is it the case that places that should be filled by people coming through the CAO route are ultimately being sold to the highest bidder on the international market?
Not to my knowledge. My Department does not collect data on the number of international students or the share of places offered through the CAO on a course-by-course basis. That falls under the remit of the individual autonomous higher education institutions and they determine that annually. The Deputy may wish to correspond with them to make his own inquiries. I reiterate my point because the scenario he is depicting is suggesting that some students have been displaced by international students coming into the same course.
I am asking for the information.
In actual fact I do not have the information.
Why not?
It is because these are autonomous institutions that manage their own course and manage their own systems within it. The Deputy is welcome to correspond with them, if he has not done so already, to see what information he can derive. Every student who wanted a course, bar one, got into a course. In the latest CAO round, there was one student in one course in entire country. It is regrettable and I would prefer if no students missed out. I think that we can agree that out of 108,000 students, one student missing out on a place is very regrettable for that individual and I would have preferred if it had not happened. That is why I am increasing the courses by 1,100 place this year alone. The problem is certainly not of the scale the Deputy wishes to depict.
159. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to outline his priorities in relation to Erasmus+ in the current negotiations for the EU’s multi-annual financial framework from 2028 to 2034. [34852/26]
Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan will introduce this question.
I am asking this for Deputy Cathal Crowe. Will the Minister for higher education outline his priorities in relation to Erasmus+ in the current negotiations for the EU’s multi-annual financial framework from 2028 to 2034?
We have been engaging intensively with European partners on the future of Erasmus+. My officials are working closely at the technical level and I am working at the ministerial and political level to advance negotiations on this important programme. Good progress has been made under both the Danish and Cypriot Presidencies. As the Deputy knows, the Cypriot Presidency comes to a close at the end of June. I was in Brussels yesterday at the Education Council. I am pleased to advise the Deputy and the House that we reached agreement among education ministers at the Council on the partial general approach for the next Erasmus+ programme. That is a really significant milestone. The partial general approach is the agreed framework among officials and across ministers at Council to now take that forward to what we call the tripartite negotiations. I will be privileged to chair those debates over the next six months. We will be taking Erasmus+ into tripartite negotiations with the European Parliament to progress that. That is very positive and I am excited about the opportunities for us and the opportunity for Ireland to put our stamp on the Erasmus+ scheme when we bring those negotiations in.
One of the plus points of the new Erasmus+ programme is that it opens up integration to the European Solidarity Corps. As the Deputy will be aware, the Erasmus+ programme has been largely an academic college-based exchange. We are broadening that out to include community programmes, sporting programmes and youth programmes. That is really important because it widens civic participation. It is not necessary to be a student to be involved in Erasmus+; young people may be involved in many other strands of public life. They will have the opportunity to exchange with other European nations, centred around European values and have the experience of living and participating abroad, which is to be welcomed. It was very good news coming from Brussels yesterday.
I realise that next year will be the 40th anniversary of the Erasmus programme and it has gone from strength to strength. Like the Minister, I know dozens of students who have availed of it over the years. I believe Ireland has sent more than 65,000 students since the programme's inception. It is a programme that we all support and would like to see go from strength to strength. The funding for the programme has increased to €40 billion now, which is far greater than its predecessor of €26 billion. However, because of the further reach to people not doing academic courses as the Minister has outlined, from what I am reading from the European Parliament debates on it, there is a concern that proportionately, the money going to each individual student might actually decrease. I ask the Minister to speak to that.
It would be regrettable if that scenario were to come to pass. I understand the concern and it is well voiced. We are at the partial general agreement, meaning that specific parts of the proposal have been agreed. Ultimately the budget has yet to be agreed and that is what we have to negotiate with our colleagues in the European Parliament as we move on to the tripartite stage. I will be meeting some of the relevant committee chairs in the European Parliament and some of the members of those committees. I will engage with them further in July, I think at the Strasbourg session, to try to move this along. However, the fact that we reached partial general agreement yesterday is critical because we could not have opened negotiations had we not done that. That will be part of the overall MFF negotiations.
It is also very much a goal for the State and for me to seek maximum funding for the Horizon research programme envelope. Some €175 billion is bracketed in at the moment, a very significant figure. That is available to Irish researchers, including small and medium enterprises, as well as the academics.
We know the value of the programme in terms of the student experience. People pick up linguistic skills and become more rounded students. It is proven academically that students who engage fare better in terms of their academic life and their job prospects afterwards. There is no denying how important the scheme is. I believe it was worth €14 million to the Irish economy in 2016 with 25,000 students coming here as well as their families who might visit them. In 2025 we received 44,500 students showing how it has grown exponentially. I ask the Minister to fight for every penny he can to increase that budget because there are concerns that proportionately, students in the scheme will not fare as well. I ask the Minister to emphasise that in his negotiations.
I very much take the Deputy's points on board. He is right about the contribution to the economy that arises from having the student inflow here as well as the visiting families and so forth. When I was growing up, my own house was home to many visiting students of many nationalities on different courses. It also provides for a richer rounder experience for the host families and the students. Earlier we were talking about the age of AI, digital skills, skills gaps and some of the automated tasks being carried out now. A student who has travelled, experienced other cultures, and acquired language and communication skills will be much more resilient in the face of AI and changing digital transformation and the new world we are entering into. I agree with the Deputy that it is an extremely important progression. I will absolutely be keeping a watchful eye on that, as Ireland assumes the Presidency of that Council, to ensure the budget is maximised for Irish students.
160. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if the veterinary course at Kildalton College will have its first intake of students in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34804/26]
Question No. 160 is being taken by Deputy Tony McCormick on behalf of Deputy Cleere.
I am taking this question on behalf of Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere, a great Kilkenny sportsman in his day. I want to convey his congratulations to Offaly on their great performance at the weekend. He wants to wish Offaly well in the upcoming Leinster Championship.
The question is to ask the Minister if the veterinary course at Kildalton College will have its first intake of students in 2026 and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The Minister has two minutes to-----
Do not forget Roscommon in the Connacht final.
Well done to all the winners and commiserations to all who did not make it over the line. The ongoing success of Offaly hurling is to be celebrated in Offaly but perhaps to be feared in other counties in Leinster. We will wish the Deputy well for now, but we will see where it goes.
Before I speak about Kildalton College, I compliment the team in Mount Bellew Agricultural College in County Galway, which I visited with Deputy Albert Dolan and Senator Anne Rabbitte recently. It is also hosting the veterinary course in ATU, which is coming on very well. Both of the courses in Mount Bellew and Kildalton are part of the new veterinary expansion. A number of years ago we realised that there was a huge demand for veterinary places and many of our students were leaving the country to study in Poland and further abroad - some in Edinburgh and some in eastern Europe - and we needed to up the ante in veterinary course provision.
Two new veterinary schools are being provided now, one in ATU and one in SETU, with 40 students in each.
The SETU programme will be supported by the Glassworks site in Waterford, but also through Teagasc's Kildalton College, which operates a working farm. That reflects international best practice between the academic laboratory experience at the Glassworks site and the practical hands-on farm knowledge at Kildalton.
There is some good news to report on that. The planned commencement of 40 places for this September has received a significant boost with the opinion of reasonable assurance from the Veterinary Council of Ireland inspection of the bachelor of veterinary medicine programme. What that opinion of reasonable assurance means is that the regulatory body has now said that it is satisfied that this course passes muster, something that was expected, but which we could not take for granted would come through. My officials have been engaging intensively on this, and we have now received that assurance. This means the students are guaranteed it will commence as planned this September. It is a very important step, which will be welcomed across SETU and ATU for the reasons I have mentioned.
The Minister's answer marks a hugely positive step forward for agriculture and animal healthcare in Ireland. The introduction of a veterinary course in Kildalton College offering 40 places each year is something that cannot be overstated in its importance. For too long, we have faced a serious shortage of qualified vets across the country. This has impacted farmers, the meat industry and even everyday pet owners who rely on timely and professional care for their animals. At the same time, many Irish students have had no choice but to travel abroad, often to countries like Poland, as the Minister mentioned, to pursue their dream of becoming veterinarians. Now, with these additional places here at home, we are not only strengthening our educational system, but also investing directly in the future of Irish agriculture and animal welfare. This is a practical, meaningful solution to a very real problem, and one that will benefit communities nationwide.
Absolutely. I look forward to visiting Kildalton, and I am going to arrange to see it myself shortly. This has that best practice combination of academic theory in the college institutions and hands-on farm experience on the practical college farm at Kildalton. I visited the UCD Lyons Farm just outside Celbridge in my constituency a number of times to see the wonderful work it does. This is an essential part of it. What is welcome in these courses is that while the students will, of course, have the same veterinary degree as a veterinary degree awarded from institutions anywhere in the world, there will be a particular opportunity to focus on large animal practice in these facilities at Kildalton and Mountbellew, for SETU and ATU, respectively, because there will be more of that traditional agricultural setting. In time, it might allow them to develop small animal practice for, dare I say it, city vets and large animal practice for vets in more regional centres of education. Of course, it also makes it much more accessible and available to students from the south east and the midlands, and from the north west for ATU.
The establishment of a veterinary course in Kildalton College is not just an educational development, but a boost for the entire Piltown-Kildalton region. Bringing 40 students into the area each year will have a tangible impact on local life and businesses. These students will live and study in, and become part of, the community. They will support local shops, accommodation providers and services that may have been struggling in recent years. This kind of steady, long-term presence brings the vitality and economic activity that rural areas truly need. At the same time, we are building a pipeline of skilled professionals who will go on to serve farms, clinics and industries across Ireland. It is a win for education and for the whole area. I compliment the Minister's team on the hard work they did to ensure this course happened.
I thank the Deputy. I agree with him about all the benefits that will flow to the regional areas from this. The expansion is being funded through the veterinary places activation programme. That wider programme is backed by €155 million, with €80 million specifically ring-fenced for veterinary education. It is a very important programme. I set a target across government to increase the number of healthcare places, and professional places overall in order to reduce the points pressure on the high points courses like medicine, veterinary and dentistry. Already, we are seeing 1,100 new places across a number of professions coming good on that. In this case, in particular, there are 80 new places for this September across the two new veterinary schools. Even the fact that there are two new veterinary schools in existence is wonderful. They now have representative bodies in the different agencies and boards. I am sure they will play their part in shaping the future of Irish veterinary and making a strong contribution to the regions where the colleges are located. Their graduates will be an exciting new, dynamic force within the veterinary sector. I wish all of the students who applied this year every success. I thank SETU and ATU for rising to the challenge.
161. Deputy Tony McCormack asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the actions being taken to improve access to higher education in regional areas, particularly in the midlands; and if additional funding is being allocated to institutions serving these regions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34802/26]
It is a high priority for me and my Department to support the development of high-quality and accessible tertiary education systems that reflect the full diversity of Irish society and ensure that all learners can access and successfully complete their education. Since the establishment of the first technological university in 2019, the Department has prioritised targeted investment of over €300 million in technological universities to ensure structural, high quality, inclusive education, training, research and innovation across the regions. As part of this funding, last year, my Department announced the targeted enhancement fund, which delivered €65.8 million for the technological sector and publicly funded specialist colleges.
ATU operates nine campuses across the northern and western region. As of now, it is a region in transition, but thankfully, it is being reclassified as a more developed region. However, due to its lagging status, ATU was allocated €10.5 million from this fund over the next two years.
The Deputy is particularly interested in the Technological University of the Shannon, TUS. It was the third technological university to be established and the first cross-regional technological university, with its main campus in Athlone. Since its establishment, it has considerably assisted higher education access, growing regional development and providing more opportunities to students, staff, business and enterprise, and local communities, serving communities in counties Westmeath, Limerick, Tipperary, Clare and Offaly. TUS has been allocated €6.3 million from this fund over the next two years. As the Deputy can see, this is a significant investment that is improving access to higher education in Offaly and the midlands.
I thank the Minister of State. Improving access to higher education in regional areas is critical, not just from an educational perspective, but also from a social and economic perspective. The Minister of State spoke about the great work that is being done by TUS and also Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board, LOETB, in its third level exploits in Offaly. Too often, students in regional counties face barriers that are less pronounced in larger urban centres. Cost-of-living pressures, accommodation shortages and travel distances can make access to higher education significantly more difficult for families. It is important that students feel they can pursue further and higher education opportunities without feeling they must leave their communities permanently in order to succeed.
I welcome the important role being played by TUS and the work being done by LOETB. However, it is important to note that Offaly still has very limited direct access to third level education provision, although excellent work has been done locally through LOETB. I am passionate about improving the situation and ensuring that students and families in Offaly have greater access to opportunities. Will the Minister of State outline what additional investment is planned for our area?
I am pleased to say that the midlands are well served by Technological University of the Shannon because it offers students from Offaly and surrounding counties high-quality university education. What I am talking about in particular today are the tertiary programmes. They offer students the opportunity to begin a course in further education before transitioning to complete their degree in higher education. We have invested €4 million from budget 2026 towards the development of these programmes. In 2026 and 2027, Laois and Offaly ETB will be offering four tertiary pathways, in partnership with SETU and TUS, in programmes including business, technology and nursing. Students on these courses can spend the first year of study in their local education and training board before transitioning to higher education, with no fees, smaller classes and additional support while they are in the ETB.
Regional education provision is not just about access to courses. It is also about supporting balanced regional development and ensuring that talent can be trained within communities. Will the Minister of State outline how the Department is ensuring that regional institutions are properly resourced to compete, grow and respond to emerging skills needs, particularly in areas linked to technology apprenticeships and further workforce demands?
How will the Department measure whether progress is genuinely being made in improving regional access to higher education over the coming years?
While the tertiary courses are absolutely fantastic and brilliant, we would like to have an outreach in Offaly from somewhere like TUS that is providing third level education for people who want to participate in third level in their home towns to avoid the cost of having to pay for accommodation by moving away and avoid the cost of transport by travelling on a daily basis, and to make sure that we have that offering in Offaly in order that they do not have the burden of the extra costs.
I hear what the Deputy is saying. Tertiary education is a great pathway. It is such an opportunity for students. It is not within the CAO system, so it allows students to access tertiary education. They can start in their local ETB and, if they like, progress on to further education in third level institutions. That is available to students across the country - in Offaly just as well as anywhere else. TUS and SETU are the Deputy's main partners in all of this. That is where the third level institutions are. Of all the locations I visited in the country, the one that impressed me the most when it came to tertiary education was the national construction training campus in Mount Lucas. To me, that is a standout initiative. It offers training in areas like modern methods of construction and near-zero energy buildings. That is an example of regional education provision. It is so important for the region the Deputy represents.
162. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he is satisfied that there are sufficient higher education places in STEM disciplines in Cork to meet projected regional demand over the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34332/26]
I am aware of the Deputy's interest in STEM, drug discovery, life sciences, pharmaceuticals and all those related matters. They are also a key priority for me, as is support for STEM overall, as well as being a key strategic priority for the Government, given its increasing criticality to economic growth, to resilience, future skills needs and regional development. I know the Deputy is very close to that in Cork with a number of significant employers in this space.
In relation to Cork particularly, the provision of higher education places in STEM is kept under review through workforce planning and higher education institutions. My Department also supports a network of regional skills forums to help employers to address their skills needs. I will be in Cork this week. On Thursday, I will be visiting UCC, among other venues. Part of the conversation, as it always is, is understanding their requirements, needs and skills and making sure they have a strong STEM ecosystem in place. Of course, they do. The presidents of both UCC and MTU, Professor O'Halloran and Professor Cusack, provide significant STEM courses and options, along with the ETB STEM pathways through the tertiary system.
There is a number of tertiary degrees with a STEM focus being delivered in Cork. I advise anybody engaging with students to make them aware of the tertiary degree paths, because these are ways that students can enter third level and higher education through local FET colleges and local ETBs. Fees are nominal. They may be €50 but may not even be that much in some cases. Students can progress into second year and move into a more traditional university for third year and beyond. There is a number of tertiary courses in STEM as well. Significantly, I recently visited the Tyndall National Institute in Cork, where I made a €160 million commitment in terms of building out the next generation of semiconductors, photonics and quantum and AI technologies. It is a world-leading institution. That was the first output of my new INSPIRE research programme. That is money well spent in the Cork area.
I will take from the Minister's response that he is satisfied or somewhat satisfied that enough courses are being filled and enough graduates are coming through the pipeline. The Minister knows the importance of Cork. He outlined it himself. According to the Irish Examiner, we are home to seven of the top ten pharmaceutical companies in the world. Approximately 14,000 people are employed across Cork in those pharmaceutical companies. We are a hub for the global life sciences. Maintaining that position is imperative for us in Cork. The most important thing that can help us to maintain that competitive edge is our people. As the Minister has said, UCC and MTU do phenomenal work. He mentioned the Tyndall National Institute. We are a hub of innovation. We are looking to grow the 14,000 jobs to 21,000 jobs by 2027. There have been recent job announcements by Eli Lilly, Regeneron and AbbVie. The demand is quite clear. The question is whether our STEM pipeline can keep up. Fundamentally, the Minister's stat data here is saying that while we have the highest proportion of graduates, we are going to come under increasing pressure in the coming years.
I thank the Deputy. I would welcome his input, with his strong local knowledge and policy knowledge of the area, for STEM provision in Cork in particular. If he thinks there are particular gaps that we need to fill or areas we need to work on or address, I would welcome that engagement. One of the policy initiatives I am pursuing is a widening of our doctoral programmes because many STEM workers ultimately come through PhD programmes. Many of those go on to work in industry. I think up to 90% of them do. The earning potential of those with doctorates is significantly ahead of undergraduates coming out at earlier stages. The statistics show us that those with doctorates are more likely to found campus companies or to go on to very successful enterprises afterward. Between the Tyndall National Institute, which I mentioned already, and other activities where we are investing in research and research funding, I opened this morning the first call for the more general round of the INSPIRE programme. A total of €150 million is being made available, and I strongly expect Cork to be making significant bids and submissions of interest to replace the foundational equipment across each university, labs, libraries, equipment, etc., as a refresh and rebuild module. That is the first phase and it is open as of today.
If the Minister asks, he will receive my local knowledge. I visited a company recently. I will not name the company, but I would love for the Minister to visit it at some stage - maybe not this Thursday because I know his schedule is full, but perhaps at another stage when he is in Cork. This company employs 65,000 people internationally, 500 of whom are in Cork and based in the city centre. The vast majority of them are PhD graduates. I recently attended there in late January. A total of 80% of their workforce have had to be brought in from abroad because they cannot satisfy what is required here in Ireland. That then has knock-on effects for housing and renting. These people are in high-paid jobs but struggle to even get a rental. We genuinely need to put the money in domestically, as well as bringing in international expertise. That is part of what we have to do. That is part of the success story to keep fuelling this. I was listening to a previous question in relation to the number of people coming in from abroad undertaking courses here and so on. There is a balance there. Nobody is saying we do not need foreign people to come in and study here, of course we do, but there is a balance there that we need to strive for. This particular company would put a spotlight on some of the difficulties that are coming down the pipeline.
That is important to hear. I have set up what I call a skills roundtable series of events where I am engaging with sectoral employers. The first event took place about six weeks ago in Grangegorman with a range of employers. I am hosting a construction skills event with the Minister, Deputy Harkin, and the Minister, Deputy Browne, later this month to hear from different construction employers such as the Construction Industry Federation, etc. I will be talking to AI and professional services employers before the summer, and then moving onto life sciences. I think pharmaceuticals will be the next up. The Deputy may have an interest in that and may wish to suggest attendees. Perhaps the company he referred to may be a suitable panellist at that. The entire point of that exercise is to engage with employers and with industry in the same room as my training agency, SOLAS, the HEA, the ETBs, etc.; to have the conversation in real time; to ask what the gaps and needs are; and to ascertain what patterns are coming through. Are they being supplied with the relevant competencies? Is the training system providing? One of the findings from the most recent event was that transversal skills need to be increased in terms of communication, analytical ability, teamwork and those sorts of universal skills, which are not as specialist as some courses might provide, but are ultimately foundational to everything.
163. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the plans in place to address the accommodation difficulties at ATU Sligo; to provide an update on the purchase of a 16 acre site near the ATU Sligo campus that was earmarked for student accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34365/26]
I thank Deputy Scanlon. He has made representation on this issue to me on many occasions.
To provide the background to this, in February 2025, under section 8(1) of the Technological Universities Act 2018, the Minister, Deputy Lawless, approved Atlantic Technological University’s request to acquire a 16.35 acre site near its campus, to be funded from existing reserves. However, the HEA has since confirmed that the purchase did not proceed. I will come back to that in a moment. Both Deputy Scanlon and I are aware of what has been happening on that.
However, I want to assure the Deputy that I recognise the significant impact that the supply and affordability of student accommodation is having on students, including in Sligo. In March, the Department published the national student accommodation strategy, which sets out a clear pathway to improve access to higher education by addressing supply, viability and affordability challenges, with projections showing demand for around 42,000 additional beds over the next decade. The strategy addresses barriers to student accommodation development through a balanced approach. I will not go through the list but it is quite detailed.
My Department has engaged extensively with technological universities including ATU Sligo, and both the Minister, Deputy Lawless, and I will be meeting them again this week. The Department has developed multiple programmes that will be brought forward on a phased basis this year through the newly established higher education institution student accommodation programme.
I have spoken to the county manager in Sligo, who tells me Sligo County Council is in discussion with a private provider to see if it would develop the 16 acre site Deputy Scanlon mentioned in order to provide student accommodation. My most up-to-date information is that these discussions are ongoing.
The announcement in February 2025 represented a significant boost for the university, particularly given that this site had long been identified as a crucial element in addressing the ongoing accommodation crisis in Sligo. For several years the shortage of suitable and affordable student housing has placed considerable pressure on both the university community and the wider local area. It is, therefore, understandable there is ongoing frustration.
In November 2024, Sligo County Council voted to sell the land to ATU, specifically for the development of student accommodation. We are now 18 months on from that decision and, despite initial optimism, progress has been slower than many had hoped for. The sale was agreed on the clear condition that a substantial portion of the lands would be dedicated to the construction of student housing, reflecting the urgency of the situation.
The site has the potential to make a transformative impact, with early proposals indicating capacity between 300 and more than 900 beds alongside the possibility of future campus expansion. Such development would play a vital role in easing the acute housing pressures faced by students each year.
I cannot disagree with anything the Deputy has said but I reiterate that in February 2025 the Minister granted ATU Sligo permission to proceed with the acquisition of that 16.35 acre site at Ardaghowen in County Sligo. The approval did not convey or imply approval for any proposed capital investment that ATU might be considering for the lands. ATU was directed to fund the cost of the acquisition from within its existing reserves. ATU Sligo did not progress with this site purchase.
I know what the Deputy is saying about what the local authority is doing. As I said, it is my understanding that, as we speak, the local authority is in discussion with private providers to see if they could develop that site for student accommodation. Without being specific about it, right now that seems to be the best possible way forward.
To be honest, I was not fully aware of the situation. In recent years hundreds of students in Sligo have found themselves without suitable accommodation following the repurposing of two privately owned student housing complexes that had traditionally provided beds for approximately 500 students. Their conversion to facilities for international protection applicants significantly reduced the availability of purpose-built student accommodation in the area, placing immense pressures on both new and returning students. The shortage had a profound impact on student life at ATU. Currently, an estimated 60% of students are commuting, with many travelling long distances each day simply because they cannot secure a place in which to live.
It is crucial that, whatever considerations have to be taken and whatever proposals are in place, this site move quickly to provide student accommodation to ensure the fine university we have continues to grow and grow.
I appreciate Deputy Scanlon's considered and reasonable approach to this. I am just as familiar as he is with the history, what has happened and the fact that we had student accommodation that is no longer available to students. A lot of people are extremely concerned about that. What the Deputy has said underlines the urgency to move forward with whatever mechanism we have to provide student accommodation in the shortest possible timeframe. As I said, the Minister gave that permission to ATU but it did not proceed with the purchase of the site and now Sligo County Council is actively looking at the site and what role it could play. It is great to see that our local authority is playing such a positive role in looking at the provision of student accommodation. Obviously, everything is in the initial stages so I cannot say anything more than that, but I can tell the Deputy they are working as best they can to ensure that student accommodation may be provided on the site through a private provider. Even so, I must insist we still have a long way to go on it.
164. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the way the newly launched AIReady.ie platform will specifically support workers who are at immediate risk of job losses due to AI; the plans that are being considered in expanding the platform’s content beyond introductory AI literacy to keeping pace with AI advancements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34869/26]
I welcome the launch of the aiready.ie website and its aims to upskill over 1 million people through free, short, accessible courses. As an introductory platform, it is very helpful and is a positive in that direction. My concern is whether aiready.ie in its current form is equipped to support workers who are facing immediate displacement and whether it connects clearly into deeper retraining pathways.
I thank an Teachta Moynihan. The pace and scale at which AI and technology in general is changing, adapting and transforming continues to astound us all, so it is all the more important that we try to stay ahead of it and that we drive our national AI skills agenda forward. It is one thing I am very conscious of right across education, research and innovation. As a productivity tool, so many businesses and users are adopting AI now in different ways. In my view, it is positive when properly harnessed and it is welcome. I do not think the worst-case fears are founded, nor do I think the wildest exaggerations of its abilities will be borne out. It is a bit like the Microsoft Excel programme, Google search or, indeed, a smartphone when they came along. We have advances in technology that we can reap benefits from, but ultimately we will move on to a different paradigm.
Among the goals of strengthening literacy for all users, I recently launched aiready.ie as an AI skills platform. It is developed by SOLAS in partnership with my Department. That was based on the advice of the national skills council, which had identified that AI literacy was a fundamental competency and that we had strong skills in the expert-user area but were not as pervasive across the ordinary user or person who wishes to use it for their accounts, for productivity gains or even for planning a personal event to build a foundational awareness. That is an essential element.
I am also launching a new range of courses, free or heavily subsidised through the Springboard+ programme, which will bring a number of microcredential courses and other courses to learners. They can be in employment, they can be independent but those courses will be offered at a heavily subsidised rate, with over 7,200 places being delivered by 36 providers nationwide. Between aiready.ie, Springboard+ courses and a number of microqualifications being delivered through the ETBs we now have quite a wide array of courses and training providers in the AI space.
Demystifying AI and familiarising people are an important first step. It cannot stop there, however, and the current AI Ready platform is focused very much on the first steps of introduction to AI. AI, as the Minister said, is rapidly evolving, and I am concerned that AI Ready may be focusing on yesterday's AI already. Can it bring people towards deeper retraining pathways? Can it act as a gateway? I look, for example, at MTU in Cork, with a wide range of micro credentials assisting people mid-career with courses in cybersecurity and AI skills and then doing those courses over a number of weeks and getting recognised qualifications on them and skills. Will the website, AIready.ie, be able to evolve into a gateway or a portal so as to bring people towards those courses and put them in a stronger position to work their job for their future roles?
Absolutely. That is very much the intention. It is, as the Deputy rightly said, currently pitched as an entry-level offering to raise the level of awareness among the general public and to broach that AI literacy or AI familiarity challenge in order that non-technical users can become more au fait with the technology, that it is demystified, as the Deputy said, and that they can get ready for it. That is the goal of the first round. It is very much the intention to continue to build on that platform, to host increasingly more sophisticated courses, to diversify and multiply the number of course offerings through it and to have the AIready.ie platform as a portal to other platforms. For example, a number of ETBs, including my local ETB, KWETB, have recently launched their own AI programme, which is a series of skills and training courses they are now offering at local level but also online in many cases. Every ETB in the country is taking up that baton as well similarly to roll out those AI courses. AIready.ie will continue to be expanded and to have additional course offerings as well as having finger-posting to the different options available on other compatible websites.
AI Ready is an important first step and it needs to evolve quickly from the basic introduction into a more meaningful enabler and a gateway for other courses. I am glad that the Minister has been engaging with the various colleges, SOLAS and others about the courses they are offering and developing. Will they be available through the AIready.ie portal? Will it act as a gateway or a portal? Because some sectors will be more affected by AI than others, will there be sector-specific courses and pathways set out and signposted for people? It is very much a different situation in financial services and the skills that would be needed there with AI, for example, skills that might be needed in graphic design for AI. Will the Minister outline how it is intended that the platform will be developed so as to support people whose jobs are at risk from AI?
Again, the Deputy made strong points, and I fully agree. The intention is to continue to expand the portal. In addition, I have asked my Department to develop what we are calling a roadmap for technology and future skills and a statement of ambition, which will set out where we want this to go. There are all the things the Deputy has just described. In addition to the initial range of courses offered, the National Skills Council comprises a group of people, cross-sector, who are engaging with my Department and me to look at skills gaps that exist. We are holding a number of skills round-table events, where we bring sectoral employers into a room. We will host a construction event later this month, and I will host an AI-specific event then in June. The idea behind that is to look at professional services and how they are being impacted by AI, that is, legal firms, accountancy firms, professional consulting firms and many of those white-collar jobs in which we are seeing graduate recruitment being somewhat paused, perhaps, to understand the implications of that. Then that will inform part of the next planning for the next round of AI Ready and subsequent iterations of that. The National Skills Council will be very much a part of the team attending at that event and will draw from that expert evidence as to where we need to go next and what courses need to be offered.
