Results 19,461-19,480 of 34,779 for speaker:Seán Fleming

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Service Provision (23 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: 595. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the situation regarding the provision of broadband in a location (details supplied) in County Laois; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24302/17]

Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: I understand why the Minister made the decision. As he said, it was partly due to financial and administrative reasons and the time taken for diagnostic tests. He referred to socioeconomic criteria for schools. The profile involves an averaging system, but children are not average. Every child is different. That is the essential point that is being lost in the system. It is...

Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: I wish to raise the issue of what I believe is discrimination against children who started primary school in 2016 and those who will start in 2017 from consideration and allocation of resources under the new special education teaching resource model. The Minister will be aware that I raised this with the Minister in a parliamentary question on 3 May 2017 on this very topic. Parents and...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: We have a quorum and the committee is now in public session. We are joined by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr. Seamus McCarthy, a permanent witness at the committee, who is accompanied by Mr. Mark Brady, deputy director of audit. I have no list of apologies to be recorded so far. The next item on the agenda is the minutes of the meeting of 11 May 2017. I have just had a quick...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: We are not holding over the minutes but I will give the Deputy a bit of latitude. They were draft minutes not approved.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: Grace’s whistleblower?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: We are coming to that.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: Absolutely. Before we go into public session with Bord na gCon, we will have a private session on that exact issue and, obviously, the Templemore issue. We have two issues to talk about in private session before we go into public session. The next item is correspondence received since the last meeting. Nos. 449 A and 452A, carried over from the last meeting with Bord na gCon, are the...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: Yes, more homework. We will not have a public quiz on it, however.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: Fine. That is useful information for committee members to have. We will note and publish that. Nos. 477B (i) and (ii), correspondence dated 10 May 2017, from Professor Patrick O’Shea, president of University College Cork, providing follow-up information subsequent to the university’s appearance before the committee with information of the gender breakdown and the Irish...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: Does Deputy Cullinane wish to talk on this topic?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: Can we try and deal with the point?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: We are going to contact the Department of Education and Skills and the OPW. We will give them the transcript of what has been said and cover the points we need clarified. That letter from the Department of Education and Skills does not clarify the matter at all. It is actually confusing because on the one hand, it claims that the legislation states they shall pay their own costs, while in...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: We are concluding this. We need proper clarification. That letter does not satisfy the Committee of Public Accounts in terms of clarity. We want the issues raised here and the transcript given to them.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: We will state that in the letter as well. We have covered both of those items, Nos. 480B and 481B. I also want to record apologies from Deputy Alan Farrell who is not here this morning and has sent me a note. The next correspondence item is No. 478B from Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú, Secretary General of the Department of Education and Skills, providing the committee with the terms...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: It does not mean that at all. We had a case in Portlaoise in which a property was offered and taken back and then they offered money. There can be a lot of legal impediments to completing the actual transfer, even after people accept and agree to do something.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: Yes, but I think we need to know whether the transaction has been completed.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: We will specifically ask in respect to that property. We will ask for clarification as to whether all those properties that have been accepted for transfer have been transferred. There is a quite a difference between accepting and completing a transaction. The next item is Nos. 494(B)(i) and (ii), from Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú, Secretary General in the Department of Education and...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: I would not have thought so. It is just the greyhound board resuming the discussion. We can follow up items by way of subsequent requests afterwards. Correspondence item 497B, dated 16 May 2017 from Bord na gCon, provides follow-up information from our meeting two weeks ago on pensions, employment details, Harold’s Cross stadium, the marketing strategy and a note on the...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 May 2017)

Seán Fleming: He would not expect us to hold things up. His letter is on the record and we appreciate his letter. He is just not here in person.