Results 221-240 of 2,335 for speaker:Joe O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (8 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: 190. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if data exists or an assessment has been conducted on the need for an ASD unit in a school (details supplied). [29313/20]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (8 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: As the Deputy will be aware, Community Employment (CE) supervisors and assistant supervisors have been seeking for several years, through their union representatives, the allocation of Exchequer funding to implement a 2008 Labour Court recommendation relating to the provision of a pension scheme for CE supervisors who are employed by CE schemes. CE sponsoring authorities are the legal...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Citizens' Assembly (13 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: 7. To ask the Taoiseach when the citizens' assembly on drug use will be convened; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29282/20]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Rural Social Scheme (13 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: The person concerned completed his overall lifetime limit of 6 years on the Community Employment (CE) Programme (rather than the Rural Social Scheme) on 21st August 2020. During his time on CE he completed 7 modules of training, and achieved a QQI Major award in Hard Landscape Construction. The purpose of the training and support that the person concerned received while on CE was to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (13 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: Community Employment (CE) is a positive initiative that enables the long-term unemployed to make a contribution to their communities whilst up-skilling themselves for employment opportunities. The scheme can play an important role in breaking the cycle of long-term unemployment for some people and improve their chances of employment. In order to qualify for CE, a number of conditions,...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (13 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: The Government is aware of the challenges facing community and voluntary organisations and is committed to working closely with the sector in managing through these, recognising that it will require a whole of Government approach. The Community and Voluntary Sector Covid-19 Stability Fund was intended to be a targeted once-off cash injection for organisations and groups currently delivering...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (13 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: The Government is aware of the challenges facing community and voluntary organisations and is committed to working closely with the sector in managing through these, recognising that it will require a whole of Government approach. The Community and Voluntary Sector Covid-19 Stability Fund was intended to be a targeted once-off cash injection for organisations and groups currently delivering...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (13 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: The Government is aware of the challenges facing community and voluntary organisations and is committed to working closely with the sector in managing through these, recognising that it will require a whole of Government approach. The Community and Voluntary Sector Covid-19 Stability Fund was intended to be a targeted once-off cash injection for organisations and groups currently delivering...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (14 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: The criteria for participating on the Community Employment Programme are based on age and length of time in receipt of various qualifying social welfare payments. To participate on a Community Employment Scheme, a person must be unemployed and in receipt of certain Social Welfare payments for a period of at least 12 months. This is in keeping with commitments in Pathways to Work to target...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Services Programme (14 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: My Department currently supports more than 400 community organisations under the Community Services Programme (CSP) to provide local services through a social enterprise model. CSP funding is provided as a fixed annual contribution to the cost of an agreed number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions and a manager, where warranted. The CSP co-funding contribution towards employing each...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 42 – Rural and Community Development, and the Islands (Further Revised) (14 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: I will try to answer all of the questions but members might let me know if I miss any of the specifics. The CSP is a bit of a hotchpotch made up of a whole variety of different types of organisations throughout the country. There are loosely three strands to the programme. The largest strand, and the one members are probably most familiar with, includes a large number of community centres...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 42 – Rural and Community Development, and the Islands (Further Revised) (14 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: Yes. To be honest, I have not processed all the new stuff.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 42 – Rural and Community Development, and the Islands (Further Revised) (14 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: Absolutely.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 42 – Rural and Community Development, and the Islands (Further Revised) (14 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: Yes.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 42 – Rural and Community Development, and the Islands (Further Revised) (14 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: I assure the Deputy that is not what it is about. It is about making funding lines and application processes fit with what we want to achieve. The report has been published and it is not about streamlining or reduction of services. It is about putting a shape on a variety of organisations that were thrown into the pot to ensure they were funded. Deputy Ó Cuív will probably be...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 42 – Rural and Community Development, and the Islands (Further Revised) (14 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: Perhaps it is something we can thrash out more next week when we will return with a social protection focus. Is the Deputy advocating an expansion of the community employment scheme in terms of places?

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 42 – Rural and Community Development, and the Islands (Further Revised) (14 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: I take the point. I will come back to the issue next week.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 42 – Rural and Community Development, and the Islands (Further Revised) (14 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: I will come back to the Chair on that point. Regarding Deputy Donnelly's point on funding for community centres, I reiterate that in January we provided Fingal County Council with €40,000 from the Dormant Accounts Fund to allow remedial work on Hartstown Community Centre and Huntstown Community Centre. Huntstown Community Centre also received €45,000 under the Covid-19...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 42 – Rural and Community Development, and the Islands (Further Revised) (14 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: I will address that issue briefly. To my knowledge, there are plans for higher technology devices to come on stream. I need to confirm that but I recall that there were plans in that regard. The lot option for the forthcoming scheme in 2021 has been confirmed, along with the technical specifications for the telecoms equipment to be included. Work is ongoing at interdepartmental level to...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 42 – Rural and Community Development, and the Islands (Further Revised) (14 Oct 2020)

Joe O'Brien: I will.