Results 2,461-2,480 of 3,980 for speaker:Sorca Clarke

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: There are no extra payments for-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: Waterways Ireland was established in the late 1990s as a cross-Border authority responsible for the management of the inland navigable waterways. Its corporate and business plans are approved by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage here. In February 2022, Waterways Ireland stated to the then Oireachtas Committee on Public Petitions that it was only in 2021 that it had...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: 53. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the engagement her Department has had with the relevant stakeholders and the additional steps that will be taken this year to ensure that all children with special educational needs have an appropriate school place this September. [22505/23]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: Last June, a report by the Ombudsman for Children's office stated that it was his view that any failure to include children with special educational needs, SEN, within the mainstream school system for any reason other than to facilitate their effect education constitutes discrimination. What engagement has the Department had with relevant stakeholders and what additional steps will be taken...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: I think we can all agree that the scenes last year of desperate parents begging and pleading for their child to have access to what is a very basic right, namely, a school place, was utterly disgraceful. In my constituency, parents whose children had autism took to the streets with placards in desperation. Athlone Community College then had an additional class opened to accommodate six...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: I am well aware of what exists in my constituency. I am also well aware of the experiences parents are continuing to have. I referenced the Ombudsman for Children's report last year. Today we read that of the 1,812 complaints to that office in 2022, education accounted for 30%. The report specifically references the many barriers children are facing in education, and special education in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Costs (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: 55. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the engagement her Department has had with schools regarding the payment of voluntary contributions by parents. [22506/23]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Costs (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: Every year, parents are asked and sometimes demands are made of them for voluntary contributions, as schools try to bridge the gap between education grants and outgoings. Given the cost-of-living crisis that has gripped this State, what engagement has the Minister's Department had with schools regarding the payment of voluntary contributions by parents?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Costs (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: Where is a school meant to go when there is a shortfall between funding from the Department and its outgoings? There are two givens every year when it comes to back-to-school conversations among parents. One is the ironic statement that we have free education and the other is the equally ironic so-called voluntary contributions. It is ironic because in reality we know that they are neither...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Costs (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: Is the Minister aware that the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has commissioned Grant Thornton to conduct a survey to identify the current gaps in funding for all categories of post-primary schools? Last August, the organisation received 30 calls per hour from desperate parents. Fast forward to this year and schools and those in charge of their administration are finding it increasingly...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Textbooks (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: 58. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the process her Department engaged in to determine the level of the schoolbook grant for 2023. [22508/23]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Textbooks (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: At the end of March, the Minister announced the primary and special schools schoolbooks grant. Can she give us details on the processes that her Department engaged in to determine the decided-upon level of the schoolbook grant for 2023 at a rate per capita of €96?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Research and Innovation Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: The witnesses are most welcome. We have had several engagements on this subject and they have been very positive to date. There has been great communication with the committee, which goes to show the level of interest and the desire among all stakeholders to see this Bill become the best it can possibly be. Dr. Lillis spoke about full-spectrum research, key to which is the board make-up....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Research and Innovation Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: I have one subsequent question. The new technological universities are spoken of. Given the newness of these entities, do they, or should they, have an additional level of support over the next period of time to embed research into those new entities?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Textbooks (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: The Minister had two minutes to answer, but she only spent about 15 seconds addressing the question, which was about the process. What was the basis of assessment, what benchmarking was done, what market research was carried out and what costings were done? I hear what the Minister said regarding the three-year pilot and a range of data, but what I am looking for is the actual range of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Textbooks (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: The Minister spoke about the three-year pilot programme and that information on same is available on the Department's website. That information makes clear reference to classroom resources, which goes beyond schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks. It specifically mentions that the money is not for swimming lessons, for example. Of the range of data compiled and correlated over the three...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Research and Innovation Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: Does anybody else wish to add to Dr. Lillis's contribution?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Research and Innovation Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: I have one final question. It is for all the witnesses because I am looking for their opinions. Professor Nolan mentioned the missions and the priorities, and that those are strategically important. As a State, the plan for what is strategically important changes over time, as should be the case. How is that embedded in this proposed legislation? How would the witnesses like to see the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Research and Innovation Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: Based on that EU norm, what is the average amount of time for which a project is funded?