Results 3,101-3,120 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (17 Apr 2014)

Charles Flanagan: 98. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding a school building project (details supplied) in County Laois; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18406/14]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Proposed Legislation (30 Apr 2014)

Charles Flanagan: 533. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if any change in the law is planned or envisaged in relation to the poor box system in the courts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18609/14]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (30 Apr 2014)

Charles Flanagan: 795. To ask the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Laois may expect to have their heart bypass operation at St. James's Hospital in Dublin 8; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18962/14]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (7 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: This is a recurring theme, as the Chairman rightly pointed out. I am not sure if the Chairman can do anything stronger in terms of ensuring the Department takes the matter seriously and that it does not go into some work programme for some far distant date. Perhaps this issue might be the subject of a press release from the Chairman or we might take a stronger view on it. This is the third...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Inter-Country Adoptions (8 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: Efforts are ongoing in my Department in relation to a bilateral agreement on intercountry adoption between Ireland and the Russian Federation. A delegation of Russian officials travelled to Ireland in October 2013 for further discussions on a bilateral agreement on intercountry adoption between Ireland and the Russian Federation. The meeting was very positive and detailed discussions took...

Open Adoption Bill 2014: Second Stage [Private Members] (9 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle. I thank the House for the opportunity to debate this legislation. I thank Deputy Anne Ferris, in particular, for the time and effort she has put into developing this Private Members' Bill. I acknowledge the work of my predecessor, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, in this Department up to this week and wish her well with her responsibilities in the Department of...

Open Adoption Bill 2014: Second Stage [Private Members] (9 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I thank Deputy Anne Ferris and all the other Deputies for their contributions and comments. It is a given that adoption is a sensitive, personal issue. It is important that at all times we learn from real experience. I warmly congratulate Deputy Anne Ferris on the manner in which she has approached this issue and on the content and format of her Bill. Deputies Anne Ferris, Robert Troy,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: After-School Support Services (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: As part of budget 2013, my predecessor, together with our colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, announced a new after-school child care initiative which is targeted at low income parents availing of employment opportunities. Lack of access to affordable, quality child care is a significant barrier to many low income and disadvantaged families seeking to avail of work opportunities....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: After-School Support Services (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: While it may be my first Question Time, it is a bit rich of Deputy Troy to use words such as "abysmal" and "disaster", given his party's record in government. The Department of Social Protection has identified 31 qualifying parents and provided them with an after-school place under the scheme, with 42 children receiving after-school child care under the programme in the week ending 2 May...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: After-School Support Services (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: This is one of a number of schemes run by the Department and it relates specifically to after-school care. Parents opt for full-day and half-day care and this is another scheme. I accept the uptake could be better and it will be better. There are 400 spaces and there is no shortage. The low uptake on the after-school programme allows for the refocusing of some of the allocated funding to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Preschool Services (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I thank Deputy Ó Caoláin for his comments about my predecessor and accept his good wishes towards myself. More than 4,300 preschool child care facilities, which is nearly all of the preschool services in the country, are participating in the early childhood care and education programme, ECCE. The objective of the ECCE programme is to make early learning in a formal setting...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Preschool Services (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I do not disagree with what the Deputy said. There have been developments to improve the infrastructure of facilities. I expect there will be more announcements and more capital funding available within a short time. My Department has introduced measures to support training for child care staff to enable them to upskill to meet the increased qualification requirements and €3...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Preschool Services (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: Regarding the Deputy's final supplementary, this is an issue upon which there has been considerable discussion during the past number of years. It is not something that is directly under the remit of this Department and it involves engagement with other Departments. It will impact substantially on local government funding but I undertake, as the Deputy suggested, to have a further look at...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Legislation (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The Deputy could be surprised.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Legislation (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 100 and 102 together. I thank the Deputy for his questions and I know this is a matter upon which he has engaged on previous occasions with the previous Minister and in the course of other debates. Under our adoption legislation, as the Deputy will be aware, when a child is registered on the register of adoption the child is deemed to be the legal child of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Legislation (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I assure the Deputy that there is no cooling off as far as I am concerned over how this issue is listed or prioritised. I am unable to give a definite timeframe, but I fully agree with the Deputy that this is an anomaly that must be addressed. I agree that it is a most sensitive and personal issue, visiting trauma and upset on all those involved. However, it would not be appropriate to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Legislation (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I do not accept what the Deputy said that this is a recipe for delay. I am committed to having this review at the earliest opportunity. The chair of the Adoption Authority of Ireland, Dr. Geoffrey Shannon, has been asked by my Department to carry out a review of the Act. There is a number of issues which he quite rightly referred to as being important in the context of change. As the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Legislation (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: There are issues which have raised significant legal and policy questions that need to be resolved. I accept they need to be resolved but they need to be resolved in the broader framework of family law relating to parentage and guardianship. It is a complex and technical issue and it will be done.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child Care Services Provision (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: To date, a range of capital investment programmes have supported progress in improving the quality of early childhood care and education services provided to children, including the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, the National Childcare Investment Programme and the Early Years Capital Programmes 2012 and 2013. Some €2.5 million capital funding is being made available in 2014...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child Care Services Provision (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: If I do not have the information to hand I will forward it to the Deputy as early as possible. I refer to my initial response to Deputy Troy who seeks more capital investment and more money. He will be aware that between 2008 and 2011 his own party in government cut €384 million or 60% from the child care budget. It is a bit rich for him to come to the House and bemoan the lack of...