Simon Harris | Business Post

IFA calls for Leaving Cert course to recognise agriculture’s ‘environmental credentials’

Organisation says famers are being ‘vilified’ as the sole cause of climate change while minister says it’s time to move away from 'adversarial’ positions on the issue

Editor’s picks: Sit down with the best of our big reads

Our editors handpick the best writing in this week’s Business Post – including a charmingly winding evening with Shane MacGowan, and the lowdown on the Qatar World Cup

Harris aims to halve third-level education fees

Minister says he wants to increase income thresholds so more students can benefit from the proposed cuts and increase grants

Simon Harris: ‘There’s too much of a focus on the traditional pathways into third-level education’

In a wide-ranging interview, the Minister for Further and Higher Education discusses his plans for third-level, including equal access, student accommodation and fees, as well as his own political ambitions

Science Gallery set for ‘totally reimagined’ relaunch next year

Rescue bid for the Trinity College Dublin exhibition space failed earlier this year but the government will provide the gallery with funding of €300,000 annually for three to four years

Overhaul of state’s training and education system needed, says Code Institute chief

The government needs to target cohorts of the workforce for retraining with skills of the future to fix shortages in the economy, according to the chairman of the online learning company

Harris aims to ‘free up’ entry route for nursing courses

Only a small number of places are set aside for graduates of PLC courses in Ireland

Intellectual capital: Can the government afford to cut fees, increase grants and provide hundreds of millions more for third-level funding?

The government admitted last week that the third-level sector was underfunded to the tune of €307 million a year, and promised to rectify this over the next three budgets. But where will the money come from?

Expected move by Harris on third-level funding likely to spark division between FF and FG

Minister for Higher Education is bringing a long-awaited policy document to cabinet next week, but he faces a challenge to convince Fianna Fáil that cutting student fees is the best course of action

Demand for third-level courses ‘not aligned to skills needs’

Minister for Further Education Simon Harris said courses in areas such as ICT, construction and health would be prioritised

Simon Harris’ support for lab-grown meat is ‘mind boggling’, industry chief says

President of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association says Ireland is ‘one of the most sustainable beef producers on the planet’

HSE to recruit healthcare apprentices as part of new strategy

Move comes as part of broader shake-up of apprenticeship system amid concerns of too much focus on university courses

‘This could be huge’: how key figures realised the full extent of Covid-19

This time last year, most people had no idea of the coronavirus tidal wave that was about to hit us, but a handful of individuals realised the gravity of the situation straight away

Harris to push public sector to take on more apprentices

The Minister for Higher Education is set to impose new targets to boost apprentice numbers in state departments, councils and government bodies

New law gives state swingeing powers over university governance

Strict new rules will slim down third-level boards and give HEA authority to replace members and withhold funding

Cathal Mac Coille: New Covid strains make credible travel restrictions essential

Public disillusion will increase if official ‘advice’ is seen as ineffective and loopholes regarding international travel remain unaddressed

Sinn Féin pressure Varadkar with new questions over GP contract leak

Varakdar accused the opposition party of trying to reheat the controversy as Paschal Donohoe raised the latest disclosures in the Dáil

Comment: 2021 must be the year to fix higher education funding

Solving the sector’s funding problem has the potential not only to contribute to our post-pandemic recovery but to underpin the next decade and more of growth

Three regional technological universities expected for next year

Technological universities help people build lives and careers near to where they were born, says Simon Harris

The enemy within: the year of coronavirus

On New Year’s Eve 2019, a mysterious pneumonia strain was reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan. We could never have imagined then the devastating impact it was going to have on the world in the ensuing months