Results 2,281-2,300 of 3,797 for speaker:Ciarán Cannon

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (30 Apr 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: Bus Éireann, which operates the School Transport Scheme on behalf of my Department, has advised that arrangements to have replacement services in place for the resumption of school transport after the Easter school holidays on Monday 28th April 2014 were successfully implemented.

Topical Issue Debate: Special Needs Assistants (1 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: I am pleased to be able to outline the position regarding the circular which has recently been issued to schools in respect of the special needs assistant, SNA, scheme and the provision of resource teaching support for children with special educational needs. This Government has passionately defended the provision for special educational spending since coming into office three years ago. It...

Topical Issue Debate: Special Needs Assistants (1 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: I gave a factual response because I like to deal in facts rather than conjecture. The fact is that the number of posts have increased significantly and there are now more SNA and resource teaching posts available to families with special educational needs than at any time in the past. In regard to supporting children with special needs in developing a degree of independence that is...

Topical Issue Debate: Special Needs Assistants (1 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: In May 2013, the National Council for Special Education recommended the development of a new model for the allocation of those additional teaching resources to mainstream schools based on the profiled need of each school, which breaks the direct link between the allocation of additional resources and the diagnosis of disability. The NCSE concluded that the current support allocation model...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Administration (6 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: I have not read the FGS report. I have been briefed on its contents.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Administration (6 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: The method used in the administration of the school transport scheme is as set out in the 1975 Summary of Accounting Arrangements. I am arranging to have a copy made available to the Deputy.

Topical Issue Debate: Student Grant Scheme Administration (7 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: I thank Deputy Nash for raising this important matter. As the Deputy will be aware, the Minister for Education and Skills provided him with a detailed response on 19 February 2014 in respect of the application by the student referred to by the Deputy for support under the student grant scheme. I understand that the Deputy has submitted more recent correspondence and the Minister will...

Topical Issue Debate: Student Grant Scheme Administration (7 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: The report of the action group on access to third level education, which forensically analysed all of the routes to third level education and made detailed recommendations concerning the introduction of special rates of maintenance grant for disadvantaged students, concluded that the target group of those most in need was defined in terms of dependants of persons receiving long-term welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme Numbers (7 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: Following the amalgamation of the former Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Vocational Educational Committees (VECs), Dublin Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board (ETB) has 510 approved VTOS places. Following the amalgamation and the taking on of responsibility for the former FÁS services, the ETB carried out a review of the provision of its Adult Education services. The ETB have informed...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Post-Leaving Certificate Courses (7 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: There were 32,688 approved Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) places available in the last three academic years.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: European Globalisation Fund (7 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: EU co-financing contributions totalling €63,285,933 have been received by Ireland to date in respect of seven successful applications for assistance from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). Final reports on the Dell, Waterford Crystal, SR Technics and NACE 41, 43 & 71 construction sub-sector EGF programmes were submitted to the European Commission between 23...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Northern Ireland Issues (7 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: I thank Senator Bradford for raising this issue. He has spoken with a great degree of knowledge and passion on the subject of achieving a lasting peace on our island. The Forum for Peace and Reconciliation was established in 1994 following the first IRA ceasefire, and consisted of membership from across the Houses of the Oireachtas, as well as from political parties in Northern Ireland. It...

Topical Issue Debate: Driver Licences (13 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: I thank Deputy Kitt for raising this issue. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, had intended to take this matter but he is in the Seanad. In 2011, the Government decided to centralise the driver licensing service, following an examination of the options related to the requirement for all EU member states to introduce a plastic card licence. The examination...

Topical Issue Debate: Driver Licences (13 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: The initial SAFE 2 authentication of the customer’s ID only needs to take place once. Once that has happened, there is no further need for any customer of the NDLS to attend its offices in person. I agree with Deputy Kitt, however, that there are questions about how our diaspora can go about renewing driving licences. I will raise this with the RSA and the Minister for Transport,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Review (13 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: Bus Éireann which operates the school transport scheme on behalf of my Department is responsible for the planning and organising of school bus routes, including the designation of the pickup and set down points to be used by their bus services. Routes are planned in such a way to ensure that, as far as possible, eligible pupils have a reasonable standard of service while at the same...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: SOLAS Training and Education Programmes Administration (13 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: I understand that SOLAS does not have any involvement in the fees charged for training by approved Safe Pass providers. SOLAS charges Safe Pass providers a fee of €23 per registration card. This fee is intended to cover the cost of printing the card, postage, administration and monitoring of Safe Pass programmes. Persons who are unemployed and require funding for training are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: SOLAS Training and Education Programmes Places (13 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: Following the dissolution of FAS, responsibility for the Apprenticeship Programme transferred to SOLAS. Participants on an off the job phase of the SOLAS Apprenticeship Programme attending an Institute of Technology are paid a SOLAS training allowance based on the gross wage norms relating to their particular trade. The amounts of these allowances remain unchanged from last year and are not...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: SOLAS Training and Education Programmes Places (13 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: The payment of an additional training allowance of €31.80 per week for the long term unemployed was introduced during a period of high employment levels as an incentive for the long term unemployed to participate in FÁS (now SOLAS) training courses. The payment of this allowance was later extended to those persons in receipt of social welfare disability payments to introduce...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (13 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: Under the terms of my Department's Primary School Transport Scheme, children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 3.2 kms from and are attending their nearest national school as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language. These eligibility criteria are applied equitably on a national basis to all children attending a national school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Administration (13 May 2014)

Ciarán Cannon: The briefing referred to in my reply of 6 May 2014 was verbal briefing. As the Deputy will be aware, the FGS report referred to has been published, and is available to download on the following link: .