Results 41-60 of 3,214 for speaker:Marc Ó Cathasaigh

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I thank our guests for their presentations and briefing documents. I do not intend to be especially negative but as we are discussing this business of forward planning, essentially what we are hearing is there is nothing to see here and move on. All of us know the situation from different representations we have received. By way of example, one should never talk about policy based on a...

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: It is a real issue. I want to ask about the modelling the Department uses in respect of the provision of special classrooms. We are seeing a lot of response to demand. If there is a demand for special classrooms, then the Department may or may not provide them. Again, I could talk about Tramore but I will not at this point. We have discussed this issue but I am not sure whether that was...

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: That is not the language I used or would use. I do not think there is systemic failure. I think the vast majority of children in our school system are well provided for and I reiterate I did not use that language.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: There are international examples of prevalence rates, particularly with autism, and we have no reason to think our population is different. I was not going to go there but as Ms McNally raised the issue of climate, I will refer to an issue that I raised with the Department at the education committee when we were discussing the public sector performance report. What the industry calls...

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I am sorry to interrupt but we do not consider, as part of that roadmap, emissions as people travel to and from school. Am I correct in that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Yes but we need to be properly planning the active travel infrastructure. We can look at all the behavioural things that we like but the actual hard infrastructure has to be there, particularly when we are talking about children, whether at primary or secondary. We can lecture to people all we want about how 14-year old children should not be in a car going to school but if there is no...

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I am sorry to cut in again but ten minutes is incredibly short and I have a list of questions as long as my arm. I am not buttering my own parsnips here but I want to talk about Gaelscoileanna in Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8. I raise this because I have a passion for the Irish language. The people of south Dublin need a Gaelscoil but they are not getting one. There is a problem with the model...

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: If I get a second opportunity to ask questions, I will raise a range of different subjects but I have one final question on school transport for now. The Department's own briefing note refers to pilot projects for 2024 and 2025. I would like a little bit more meat on the bones on that, including the possibility of integrating with public transport services and so on. The other point I...

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I want to return briefly to the subject of school transport and an issue highlighted in the special report in 2017. This is spare capacity in the fleet. There are people who have the bus ticket but use it a day a week because that is the day they do not have the car or somebody is off or whatever else it is. I am not aware of it from any of the bus routes that I know. Are people tracking...

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I can understand the challenge but the common frustration that we hear voiced is that the school bus passes those people who want a seat on it and they see empty seats.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: The kid could be sick or whatever it is.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: It is something that needs to be worked on.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: To change tack, I want to ask about the large number of children from Ukraine we are accommodating. It has been said that approximately 18,200 has been enrolled in primary and secondary schools. The Department probably has a good picture of mobility in terms of how often these children are moved from school to school. It probably has a reasonable line of sight on how many children are no...

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I want to ask a question on the disposal of assets of religious orders. . I particularly want to ask about the Sacred Heart centre in Waterford which is being transferred from the Sisters of Charity to the HSE. The legal title transfer is complete. What is the hold up?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: It would be nice to see it done and dusted, rather than it dragging on.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: My last question is quite general. I have a real worry about casualisation of the profession, particularly at secondary level. Do the witnesses have detail such as can be supplied in the short amount of time available? It is a particular problem at secondary level but I know it is creeping into primary as well. I am referring to people who are full-time, permanent staff versus people who...

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: This results in a lot of non-specialised teaching, though. Ms McNally has used SPHE as an example. Many young teachers are drafted in to fill out their timetable. That is not how any subject area should be treated. Similarly, teaching English as an additional language is something I have experience of myself. It is a skill in and of itself. It is not a case of, "In you come and take a...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Rail Network (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: 79. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on the intervention of his Department to progress the reopening of Barrow Bridge in advance of the recouping of costs due to the ship strikes from the insurance companies involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22121/24]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Active Travel (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: 95. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on the expansion of active travel funding for educational and hospital campuses, to include funding for large business parks, and overall expansion of supports for active travel infrastructure, including supports for workplace showers, wet gear storage and secure overnight bike parking; and if he will make a statement on the...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Cycling Policy (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: 121. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department will be attending the EuroVelo and Cycling Tourism Conference 2024 in Denmark, given the potential of cycling and sustainable tourism in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16696/24]