Results 2,641-2,660 of 6,465 for speaker:Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Staff (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: There is no doubt but that this has dragged on for far too long. I welcome the progress that has been made. I appreciate that the Minister is working on this and that negotiations are continuing. I urge her to continue to engage and try to ensure a fair and equitable solution. The fact is that schools would come to a halt without caretakers and secretaries. It is vital that caretakers...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education Schemes (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I know the Minister is passionate about this issue and that there is a cross-party desire to resolve these matters. The criteria are dated. I can think of numerous examples of schools affected. Two that occur to me immediately are Togher boys and girls schools. They are in a RAPID area. Around 200 additional units of additional social housing have been built there in the last three...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Irish Language (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Deputy Calleary is right that having a focus on the whole strategy, from infants classes right through to third level, is key. That should come before the proposals regarding the leaving certificate. The problem with what is on the table in regard to the leaving certificate examination is relatively easily to comprehend. If we are going to put in place a more challenging course that is not...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Special Educational Needs (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I will raise the matter with the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte. It is cross-departmental and does not belong exclusively to her. The Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, should be concerned about it and I urge her to speak to the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, as well and find out if this is happening in special schools. That is a key element of the Minister of State's portfolio...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Special Educational Needs (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: What about the interpreters?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Special Educational Needs (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 81. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the significant impact of school closures on children with special educational needs; the steps she has taken to ensure that every child with special educational needs can catch up after these closures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45808/21]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Special Educational Needs (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: The cohort comprising children with special educational needs is the cohort most affected when school buildings are closed, along with those who suffer educational disadvantage. These children were among the greatest victims of the lockdown. At a meeting of the Joint Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in March, I raised with the Minister...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Special Educational Needs (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I thank the Minister of State. Much of her answer is irrelevant to this topic. While much of what she has laid out is good, the answer does not address the key point I raised which was that, from my contact with schools, it seems to be the case that the elements of the progressing disability model which we had understood to be paused have now resumed and that in-school supports for children...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Covid-19 Pandemic (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 79. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps she has taken to ensure the return to school is safe and sustainable; the investments that will be required for this; and the work she has undertaken with other Departments in furtherance of this aim. [45807/21]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Covid-19 Pandemic (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Sinn Féin has always said that the priority must be a safe and sustainable return to school. We all know that in-school learning is unmatched in terms of children's development but there is clearly a distance to go in terms of some of the mitigation measures. There are issues to address in schools, not least securing CO2 monitors and adequate ventilation. How does the Minister plan to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Covid-19 Pandemic (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: The Minister instanced the return to school documents that schools have received. As I demonstrated on Tuesday, and as has been borne out since, there are contradictions between that document and the HSE advice. On Tuesday, at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Education, the Minister said that she did not expect any significant changes in terms of contact tracing or mitigation...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Covid-19 Pandemic (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Using my words as a suggestion that the Minister was forthright is not totally consistent. However, if the Minister is saying she was not fully aware of the situation as it was at that stage, of course I accept that. That said, I still urge her to ensure the CMO addresses parents and school staff about these changes and that the Minister makes it clear what these changes will mean on the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Covid-19 Pandemic (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Will the Minister comment on filtration?

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 116. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will discuss the difficulties new and developing schools are facing in accessing special educational supports. [45694/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 147. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide clear and uniform guidance to schools on the use of lockers for students to store books during the school day. [45693/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 156. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps she is taking to provide CO2 monitors to every classroom to ensure adequate ventilation. [45692/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 168. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps she has taken to achieve pay equality and pension entitlements for school caretakers. [45690/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (23 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 173. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if school transport is running at 100% capacity; the steps she is taking to increase the number of seats available on school buses; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45691/21]

Garda Siochana (Functions and Operational Areas) Bill 2021: Second Stage (22 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: This Bill is about the restructuring of divisions and districts, a lot of which flows from the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. While I did not agree with all of the commission's recommendations, by and large the thrust of what was put forward made an awful lot of sense in the context of the reorientation towards community policing. I have previously paid tribute to the fact...

Residential Tenancies (Tenants' Rights) Bill 2021: Second Stage [Private Members] (22 Sep 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: It is a particularly grim time to be a renter in Cork or elsewhere. I do not believe there has ever been a good time to be a renter. Historically, the protections available to renters in this State have been very poor compared with those in other jurisdictions. This legislation, which I welcome, would go some distance towards rectifying that. However, the inequality that exists between...