Ninth Level Ireland

“Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if it is planned to introduce health regulations in relation to the holding of in-person third-level examinations between the end of November and Christmas 2021 in view of the risk that they might become super-spreader events and cause Covid-19 to be reintroduced by students returning home for Christmas to households throughout the country including parents, vulnerable family members and grandparents; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 1 December]

“Irish Librarians condemn publisher Pearson’s 400% price hikes. Irish Librarians and library-related organisations wish to express our dissatisfaction with the recent announcement of upcoming increases to content provided by the publisher Pearson …” (more)

[Conul, 2 December]

“Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which he continues to facilitate the provision of an adequate number of qualified academics and technicians to meet the requirements of the modern workforce; the areas he has identified as requiring special attention; his plans to meet such requirements in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil debates, 30 November]

“Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will report on the operation of the Speak Out tool for the anonymous reporting of violence and harassment in higher and further education institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil debates, 30 November]

“Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the likely timeline by which Dundalk Institute of Technology will attain technological university status as part of the technological university project which has transformed higher education across the State (details supplied); and if he will ensure that the institute will not continue to be left behind …” (more)

[Dáil debates, 30 November]

“Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to deal with the issue of student poverty and, in particular, the chronic shortage of affordable student specific accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil debates, 30 November]

“Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if students will have a remote option for end of semester exams; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil debates, 30 November]

“Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the student protests which took place on 23 November 2021 led by a union (details supplied): the way he plans to reduce the cost of the student contribution and student accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil debates, 30 November]

“SIPTU and the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) have today (Thursday, 2nd December) confirmed that union members working in the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI) have accepted new pay proposals by an overwhelming majority …” (more)

[SIPTU, 2 December]

“Sinn Féin MLA John O’Dowd has expressed solidarity with the Universities and Colleges Union on its decision to take strike action for better pay and working conditions. The party’s spokesperson on Higher and Further Education said …” (more)

[Sinn Fein, 1 December]

“Blood has been in the water for Ireland’s most prolific and perhaps only self-identifying neoconservative over the past fortnight, with the targeting of DCU lecturer Dr Mark Humphrys by anti-racist campaigners …” (more)

[Ciaran Brennan, The Burkean, 1 December]

“Sinn Féin spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Rose Conway-Walsh TD, has labelled the department’s response to rising Covid numbers as ‘completely inadequate’. After raising the issue in the Dáíl with Minister Harris, Teachta Conway-Walsh said …” (more)

[Sinn Féin, 1 December]

“Trinity students will be heading to the Dáil today to delivery an open letter to Minister for Higher Education, Simon Harris and Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly. The students will call on Government to cancel in-person exams across the country this year as Covid-19 cases continue to rise …” (more)

[Roisin Cullen, DublinLive, 1 December]

“In recent times I’ve found myself remarking quite frequently on this blog how much the Covid-19 pandemic has played havoc with my perception of the passage of time, and I come to reflect on that again now that today (1st December 2021) marks four years since I started work at Maynooth University …” (more)

[In the Dark, 1 December]

“Some staff at Queen’s and Ulster universities are beginning three days of strike action. The University and College Union (UCU), which represents lecturers and support staff, is taking the action over pay, workloads and pensions …” (more)

[Robbie Meredith, BBC News, 1 December]

“Residents near the University of Limerick have welcomed news that a community liaison officer will be appointed to address anti-social behaviour. Residents of College Court, Elm Park, Hazelwood, Milford Grange and Oaklawns met with representatives from UL, the gardai, UL Student Union, landlords and Limerick City and County Council recently to express their concerns …” (more)

[Frances Watkins, Limerick Leader, 30 November]

“Just 4% of the student population voted in Trinity College Dublin’s referendum intended to boycott the Irish Times. Driven by the paper’s decision to print an article last August from therapists who were critical of some of the demands of the transgender movement, the referendum was held last Friday 26 November …” (more)

[Máire Ní Mhaoine, Gript, 30 November]

“Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) council has voted to work with postgraduate students and the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) to create a policy which would require all lectures to be recorded. The motion will mandate the three groups to ‘find a solution for handing over copyright of recorded lectures to lecturers’ … (more)

[Mairead Maguire, University Times, 30 November]

“Staff at 58 universities are taking part in a three-day strike over pay, working conditions and pensions. Students, facing more disruption after 18 months of remote learning during Covid, have been urged to check with their lecturers to see if their classes are running …” (more)

[Hazel Shearing, Elaine Dunkley and Branwen Jeffreys, BBC News, 1 December]

“There is a need for change and greater diversity within the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) in order for the academic body to be ‘relevant to Irish society today’, a report commissioned by the body has found …” (more)

[Jade Wilson, Irish Times, 30 November]