Results 6,741-6,760 of 8,015 for speaker:Jonathan O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Services for People with Disabilities (23 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will define the term affected as used by Middletown in relation to its affect on over 400 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder; the way the affect on children attending Middletown is measured; and if he will provide a definition of the term trained as used in the Middletown Inspection Report. [46104/12]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Services for People with Disabilities (23 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will confirm that the most common duration of course delivery for the 3,000 persons trained at Middletown is two hours. [46105/12]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Services for People with Disabilities (23 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide details of independent reviews of the effectiveness of courses in Middletown in terms of their delivery of training and value for money and to provide a breakdown of the amounts paid to fund individual courses. [46106/12]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training (23 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether short courses in a specialised discipline such as behaviour analysis, that are provided for continuous professional development for teachers does not equate to an approved qualification in that specialised discipline, especially when international standards of training exist for that specialised discipline for example the...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: EU Funding (18 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department have made any applications for Ten-T funding; and if so, for which projects. [45140/12]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Tourism Industry Issues (18 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport having regard to the reduced detail and frequency with which tourism statistics are published by the Central Statistics Office, if his attention has been drawn to the importance of reliable and frequent data for policy purposes and also for the various agencies with regard to operational management; and if he will make a statement on the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Human Rights Issues (17 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the continued human rights violations in Bahrain, particularly against medics; and the formal steps that he has taken to inform the Bahraini Government of its views in relation to these human rights violations. [45096/12]

Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (17 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: We will hold the Minister to that commitment. Two weeks ago, the Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection heard from a number of patron bodies about the cost of education to parents. The cost of education to many parents and the pressure put on schools to meet budgets is having an effect. Anything that can reduce the cost of running schools, with the savings passed on to parents,...

Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (17 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: Any reform of our education system, which involves the reform of public services, must strike a balance between securing efficiencies and making the delivery more effective for learners and more rewarding for those who deliver the services. That must be a priority. The reform of education and training provision must not be exclusively focused on the expenditure side. Adequate provision...

Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (17 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: I commend the Minister and his officials for the time, effort and research that went into the legislation. No one could argue but that there are ambitious reforming measures in the Bill. The Minister referred to landmark dates and this will be another landmark item of legislation in respect of education in the State. The scale of what the Minister is trying to achieve cannot be...

Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (17 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: This legislation is the transforming Bill and I understand why it took so long to get to this Stage. When the SOLAS Bill comes before the House, it will pass very quickly because most of the groundwork will have been done in this Bill. Both items of legislation are important because they come at a time when the State faces a period of challenging economic reality. Dealing with such...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Exemptions (17 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide a breakdown of the cost to the Exchequer should primary and post primary schools that qualify for the capitation grant be made exempt from value added tax when paying for service utility and service charges. [44968/12]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Exemptions (17 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide a breakdown of the cost to the Exchequer should primary and post primary schools that implement the DEIS’s recognised curriculum be made exempt from value added tax when paying for service utility and service charges. [44969/12]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Exemptions (17 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide a breakdown of the cost to the Exchequer should primary and post primary schools be made exempt from value added tax when paying for school text books. [44970/12]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Exemptions (17 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide a breakdown of the cost to the Exchequer should the 3,305 primary schools and 4,034 second level schools aided by the DEIS be made exempt from value added tax when paying for service utility and service charges. [44971/12]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Exemptions (17 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: To ask the Minister for Finance if there are EU regulations that prohibit the introduction of amendments to existing legislation that would exempt primary and secondary schools from paying VAT. [44972/12]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Exemptions (17 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide a breakdown of the cost to the Exchequer should DEIS band one and two schools be made exempt from value added tax when paying for service utility and service charges. [44973/12]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Higher Education Institutions Issues (17 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the DEIS has considered increasing the minimum number of teaching hours for lecturers employed in third level institutions from 16 to 18 and the projected savings that could be made to the third level budget from this change. [44975/12]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Higher Education Institutions Issues (17 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the DEIS examined the benefits of introducing a third semester for third level institutions that would increase the teaching cycle from 24 weeks to 36 weeks a year and his further views that this would provide a much better training cycle for students and a possible 50% productivity increase with four-year degrees being completed in less than...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Higher Education Institutions Issues (17 Oct 2012)

Jonathan O'Brien: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if consideration will be given to introducing a more robust and transparent system of performance evaluation for third level lecturers that focuses on evidence of changes made in teaching practice and the establishment of specific teaching standards to be reached. [44979/12]