Results 1-20 of 7,014 for speaker:John Brady

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

John Brady: I thank the delegation for coming to discuss an important issue which is causing communities throughout the State anxiety, stress, concern and fear as regards the handling of education. There appears to be a poor forward planning process in place. That is certainly evident in my constituency of Wicklow. How would the witnesses sum up the Department's current approach to forward planning,...

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

John Brady: Ms McNally said that planning has worked, but it has not. It has failed. Forward planning has fundamentally failed. Wicklow is one example of that but there are many other examples across the State. I will quickly read a letter I got from a pupil in Wicklow only this Monday. It is very brief and says: Hello, my name is [I am not going to give his name, for obvious reasons] and I go to...

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

John Brady: This is an annual occurrence. It is not a one-off occurrence in the Greystones area. Unfortunately, Ms McNally's words ring hollow to this pupil and his family and to the other families who are in a similar situation to the parents and pupils of last year, the year before that and so on. There is a cyclical failure by the Department to deal with this. Ms McNally said that forward...

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

John Brady: The local authority did see it. There is a planning process there. There are population targets laid down. It saw it. There was a real failure here to plan properly, both by the Department and the local authority. There was no joined-up thinking. Education is one area but there are other areas which have failed here in terms of amenities. Pupils should have a basic and fundamental...

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

John Brady: Clearly, in this case, the Department is not working closely enough. I want to move on to another area, namely, the use of prefabs. Again, there has been a failure to put in place the school builds in a timely and efficient manner. I have to hand the figures from 2022. The cost of providing prefabs or temporary modular accommodation for schools was €28.1 million. Do we have the...

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

John Brady: Do we have a figure for 2023?

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

John Brady: I apologise but did Ms McNally say the figure was €43 million in 2023?

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

John Brady: There has been a significant increase, therefore. Was that for rental?

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

John Brady: What was the figure for the purchasing of modular units?

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

John Brady: In the context of the renting of spaces and other types of properties for temporary provision for educational purposes, do we have figures for 2023?

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

John Brady: Do we have a figure for how much it has cost to purchase those modular units?

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

John Brady: €281.9 million.

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

John Brady: Do we have a figure for the renting of land and premises on which to put these modular units in 2023?

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

John Brady: I do not mean to go back to asking about Wicklow all the time, but those modular units are predominantly being put onto land not owned by the Department. Again, therefore, how much is it costing to rent spaces in which to put those modular units? Ms McNally is saying it is permanent but in many cases it is of a temporary nature in terms of the location.

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

John Brady: If I could go back to the Wicklow situation, land is being rented from a rugby club, a GAA club and a tennis club-----

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

John Brady: They may be small numbers but in Wicklow, it cost €6 million in one year to provide temporary accommodation by renting land, renting prefabs and so on. That is not value for money, in my book. It is a failure by the Department to forward-plan to provide education for pupils who, as a right, should have it in appropriate settings. I will give Ms McNally an example. One of my...

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

John Brady: To finish, although I might come back in on this, when the Ombudsman for Children has stated there is an unacceptable level of stress, particularly for children with special needs, and when there is a figure of more than €320 million having been spent last year on the provision of temporary and modular accommodation, that speaks volumes about the failure of the Department and the...

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

John Brady: Fine Gael's policy is anyone over 70 years should not drive any bus. That is chaos.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (9 May 2024)

John Brady: 121. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if a passport application for a family (details supplied) can be escalated, as the applicants' travel date is imminent and the applications have passed the target issue date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21010/24]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (9 May 2024)

John Brady: 318. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills what funding and supports are available to students studying psychotherapy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20946/24]