Results 2,161-2,180 of 3,895 for speaker:John Halligan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Applications (17 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: School transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. Currently in the region of 114,000 children, including some 10,000 children with special educational needs, are being transported in over 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually. In general,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Youth Employment Initiative (17 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 418 and 419 together. As the Deputy will be aware, the EU additional pre-financing of €19.8m made available for the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) was due to be reimbursed to the Commission in the absence of an interim claim being submitted to the Commission by May 2016.   My Department reimbursed this pre-financing to the Commission...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Review (17 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: School transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. Currently over 114,000 children, including some 10,000 children with special educational needs, are being transported in approximately 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually. Children...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: SOLAS Training and Education Programmes Certification (17 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 423 and 424 together. SOLAS are the body responsible for the operation of the card schemes under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2006. They are also the competent authority for recognising the qualifications of EU nationals who wish to undertake activities regulated under this legislation. This role is assigned to SOLAS...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (17 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: The National Skills Strategy 2025 identifies Ireland's current skills profile, provides a strategic vision and specific objectives for Ireland's future skills requirements, and sets out a road map for how the vision and objectives can be achieved across the education and training sector. With over 140 Actions, the Strategy sets out the Government's commitment to improving and using skills...

Priority Questions: School Transport Review (18 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: I thank the Deputy. As she knows, the programme for Government committed to a review of the concessionary charges and rules element of the school transport scheme. It was commenced in June 2016 and published in December of that year. As part of the review process, I established an Oireachtas cross-party working group, of which the Deputy was a member, to feed into it. That group met to...

Priority Questions: School Transport Review (18 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: The Deputy was out of order to discuss my constituency. I happen to be the Minister of State for the whole of the country, not just for Waterford, Cork or Donegal constituencies.

Priority Questions: School Transport Review (18 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: I take representations from every Member, including many from the Deputy's party-----

Priority Questions: School Transport Review (18 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: -----who have been successful in their applications to me. People are unclear regarding concessionary transport. The problem is that, although it has been dramatically increased in recent years to approximately 25,000 people, the scheme is still based on the amount of money that is made available to my Department. I make this point consistently - I am not in a position, nor would I want...

Priority Questions: School Transport Review (18 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: -----to allow everyone to get school transport, but that is not the case as it is.

Priority Questions: School Transport Review (18 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: The Deputy is completely wrong. I made a clear commitment that any eligible child who was entitled to school transport would get it. There are no children who are eligible for school transport who do not get it. The concessionary scheme was set up to deal with eligible children. If places on buses became available because eligible children could not fill them, children in the...

Other Questions: School Transport Eligibility (18 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: I spoke to the Deputy on the issue briefly before he came into the Chamber. This has been a consistent and continuing issue since before my time with the previous Minister. It is an issue that has been brought to my attention by a number of Deputies. Changes to the eligibility criteria for the Department's school transport scheme were announced in December 2010 by the then Government as...

Other Questions: School Transport Eligibility (18 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: I will go through a few points and then make a recommendation to the Deputy. Sometimes we are asked why we do not use the bus routes to determine eligibility rather than the shortest traversable route. The bus route is designed based on the home address of the children who are eligible for school transport. Given that new children apply for transport each school year, it follows that the...

Other Questions: School Transport Eligibility (18 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: We should discuss this further next week. I would make the point that there is an independent school transport appeals board. This case went to the appeals board and the original decision was upheld. That said, I am willing to meet the Deputies next week to see if we can work something out. I hope that is reasonable and acceptable.

Other Questions: School Transport Data (18 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: The number of bus routes rose from 5,001 in 2011 to 5,256 in 2016. In 2011, the number of taxi routes was 796. I could go through them all but I will send the details to the Deputy. The number of taxi routes increased from 796 in 2011 to 1,159 in 2016. The cost of school transport in the period rose from €171 million to approximately €182 million, and much of the increase...

Other Questions: School Transport Data (18 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: There has not, because we are speaking about 114,000 children. There are now 25,000 pupils who travel on a concessionary basis, which is a dramatic increase. The financial costs for 2012 were €58 million and for 2016 they were €73 million. The big increase has been in concessionary transport, which has gone up dramatically this year to €25,000.

Topical Issue Debate: Hospital Services (18 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: I am not. The Minister is replying. I am making a contribution. I am not replying; I cannot.

Topical Issue Debate: Hospital Services (18 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: If I could reply, I would, but I am not allowed, apparently. I can only contribute. The Minister for Health can reply.

Topical Issue Debate: Hospital Services (18 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: No. Out of courtesy, what I said was that the Minister for Health replies.

Topical Issue Debate: Hospital Services (18 Jan 2017)

John Halligan: That has nothing to do with me. I asked for speaking time on this issue. That is what I asked for.