Ninth Level Ireland

“The Tánaiste said he is strongly of the view that the Technological University of the South-East should be centred in Waterford. Leo Varadkar was responding to Waterford Sinn Fein TD David Cullinane and Fianna Fail TD in Carlow/Kilkenny Jennifer Murnane O’Connor in the Dail. Both Deputies were making the case for the headquarters of the new entity to be in their respective areas …” (more)

[Sinead Aherne, WLR FM, 18 February]

“The Tánaiste has confirmed that the old Waterford Crystal site is being looked at as part of the planned expansion of WIT. The site in Kilbarry is vacant since 2009. It was bought by Waterford developer Noel Frisby, his company Ibrook successfully applied for planning permission to refurbish the site in 2019. Leo Varadkar was responding to questions on promised legislation from Sinn Fein’s David Cullinane …” (more)

[Sinead Aherne, WLR FM, 4 February]

“The IUA welcomes the publication of the Higher Education Research & Development Survey (HERD) by the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD. This latest HERD survey clearly shows the need for a step change in research and innovation investment in Ireland given the fall in our research spend rankings from 14th to 23rd place in the OECD list …” (more)

[IUA, 20 January]

“Forcing student nurses to work full shifts is ‘tantamount to slavery’, Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne has said. The Government has been widely criticised in recent weeks for not providing student nurses with full pay for their work. A review is underway of allowances for all student nurses, and for the payment of final year students, and Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said he is certain allowances will increase when the review is completed by the end of the year …” (more)

[Colin Gleeson, Irish Times, 13 December]

“Student nurses and midwives who are doing the work of staff nurses should be paid for their efforts ‘and that includes those in first, second and third year’, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has told the Dáil. But he hit out at the Opposition over a Dáil motion calling for student nurses and midwives to be paid, which the Government rejected …” (more)

[Marie O’Halloran, Irish Times, 10 December]

“Late on Tuesday the 2nd of December, the Dáil rejected a motion, brought forward by People Before Profit, to pay student nurses and midwives for working during the Covid-19 pandemic. The motion was rejected by a narrow margin of 77-72. The three parties in government all voted against the motion …” (more)

[Luke Murphy, College Tribune, 3 December]

“Health Minister Stephen Donnelly is examining whether to pay a bonus or other stipend to student nurses who work for free in Covid wards around the country. Confirmation of the move, previously mooted, comes after 12,000 people signed an internet petition overnight calling for the 3,000 students to be paid for both the work and the risk they are running of contracting the life-altering disease …” (more)

[Senan Molony, Independent, 27 November]

“Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar has ruled out significant pay rises for government employees in the next public service agreement. But he described pay inequality for post-2012 recruits as an unfair ‘running sore’, which had never been intended to last forever …” (more)

[Ingrid Miley, RTÉ News, 23 November]

“Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment if universities and third level institutions are bound by SI 146 of 2000 Industrial Relations Act 1990 (Code of Practice on Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures); and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 7 October]

“Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael): To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if the application by Ireland to become a full member of CERN will be progressed; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 14 July]

“On Friday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced cuts to the Pandemic Unemployment Payment for part-time workers from €350 to €203 a week, affecting students who were working part-time during the academic term. For many students, the summer months are a time for saving money to pay for college accommodation and student fees. The payment cut affects those who were working part-time and making less than €200 a week prior to Covid-19 …” (more)

[Rachel Healy, College Tribune, 6 June]

“The Union of Students’ in Ireland (USI) has called for the government to allocate adequate unemployment payment to students who will miss out on summer work due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This follows Taoiseach Leo Varadakar’s statement yesterday that the unemployment payment is due to be cut for some part-time workers …” (more)

[Shannon Connolly, Trinity News, 5 June]

“While admitting to feeling ‘a little let down’ in the wake of last week’s Munster Technological University (MTU) announcement, WIT President Willie Donnelly has told staff: ‘We have earned the title of University’ …” (more)

[Dermot Keyes, Waterford News and Star, 31 May]

“An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD, Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD and Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor today (26 May 2020) announced the decision to grant Technological University Status to the TU Consortium made up of Cork Institute of Technology and Institute of Technology Tralee …” (more)

[Department of Education and Skills, 26 May]

“This year’s Leaving Cert students are expected to be assessed through predictive grades, in a radical departures from the normal State exams. These grades would be based on their performance in school, under plans that are set to go before the Cabinet on Friday …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 7 May]

“Leaving Cert students may be awarded grades based on their class ranking and their performance in recent assessments under a potential ‘Plan B’ to the summer exams. The Irish Times understands that a draft Department of Education plan could involve school principals signing off on a process where teachers award provisional grades based on student performance to date …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien and Marie O’Halloran, Irish Times, 7 May]

“Each Leaving Cert student should be given the choice of sitting an exam this year or having their marks calculated on a mixture of past results and overall national averages, says an education expert. It would be kinder to students and better for their mental health if the State examinations were formally cancelled and replaced with a series of options …” (more)

[Alan O’Keeffe, Independent, 3 May]

“The Leaving Cert must be cancelled and ‘fair alternatives’ to the State exams must be worked on, Fianna Fáil has said. Speaking following the publication on Friday night of the Government’s plan for exiting the coronavirus lockdown, the party’s education spokesman Thomas Byrne said it had added to the ‘already heightened anxiety’ among students …” (more)

[Patrick Logue and Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 2 May]

“The President of NUI Galway has said significant investment in profound research focused on helping human health and well-being during the current health emergency will be announced today by the Taoiseach. Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh said the funding will support medical, technical and social research projects specifically focused on Covid-19, a number of which are based at NUI Galway …” (more)

[RTÉ News, 29 April]

“Taoiseach Leo Varadkar today told Trinity’s graduating medicine students that they’ll play a vital role in battling the coronavirus pandemic, in an online graduation ceremony held so students can join the frontlines in the next month …” (more)

[Donal MacNamee, University Times, 28 April]