Results 3,141-3,160 of 4,350 for speaker:Bobby Aylward

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Scheme: Discussion (25 Sep 2018)

Bobby Aylward: I know and understand that position.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Scheme: Discussion (25 Sep 2018)

Bobby Aylward: I thank Senator Ruane for indulging our requests.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Scheme: Discussion (25 Sep 2018)

Bobby Aylward: We are sorry for walking out of here as we would have liked to have spent more time in the Senator's good company. I thank the committee for giving my colleague and I the opportunity to speak even though we are not members of the committee. I am a member of other committees and know that it is normal practice for committee members to speak first.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Scheme: Discussion (25 Sep 2018)

Bobby Aylward: It is just that we have a Topical Issue debate that is due to take place at 5.20 p.m. and that is the reason we must depart early. I welcome all of the officials to the meeting. Much of what I want to say has been said and I do not want to repeat anything. As Senator Gallagher has expressed, school transport is a greater problem for rural areas than urban areas because most towns and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Scheme: Discussion (25 Sep 2018)

Bobby Aylward: The review did not change anything. I read it and was a member of the committee that queried it.

Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Report Stage (26 Sep 2018)

Bobby Aylward: I too welcome the aims and objectives of this Bill, which is to reduce excessive drinking, in respect of which I accept we have a problem in Ireland. However, I am not happy with the labelling measure, particularly the inclusion of the word "cancer" on labels. A lot of people dread the word "cancer", particularly those who have had it. I am a survivor of cancer. It is a word that instils...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 Sep 2018)

Bobby Aylward: On page 105 of the programme for Government, there is a commitment to ensuring that every young person is enabled to reach their full potential. I have written to the Minister for Health regarding the provision of the drug Spinraza for children suffering from spinal muscular atrophy, SMA. The HSE has acknowledged that the drug works well and it is now solely an issue of cost. Some of the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (3 Oct 2018)

Bobby Aylward: 50. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence his plans to address the problems with recruitment and retention across the Defence Forces; his plans to improve pay and working conditions for members of the Defence Forces; his plans to improve pensions, benefits and retirement packages for former members of the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39965/18]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (3 Oct 2018)

Bobby Aylward: What are the plans of the Minister of State with responsibility for defence to address the problems with recruitment and retention throughout the Defence Forces, his plans to improve pay and working conditions for members of the Defence Forces, and his plans to improve pensions, benefits and retirement packages for former members of the Defence Forces? Will he make a statement on the matter?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (3 Oct 2018)

Bobby Aylward: The first step in solving a problem is to recognise one exists. The Minister of State has not realised we have a problem on our hands. I had hoped to hear an admission or acknowledgement from him that the Government recognises the scale and impact of the issues facing members of the Defence Forces and their families. I come from Kilkenny, a town with a military barracks, and I have met...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (3 Oct 2018)

Bobby Aylward: I am listening to the Minister of State but I am talking about reality. What he is saying here is all rhetoric. As I said, I come from Kilkenny, a town with a military barracks. I know families who are affected by pay. Soldiers of this country are being badly left behind compared with other civil and public servants. They need a helping hand. Why are they on family income supplement,...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Oct 2018)

Bobby Aylward: Page 105 of the programme for Government commits to ensuring that every young person is enabled to reach their full potential. I have been contacted by the principal of St. Patrick's school in Kells, County Kilkenny, which caters for pupils with moderate and severe learning disabilities. The principal is very concerned over the unacceptable delay in the payment of the bus escort grant. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Adult Education Provision (3 Oct 2018)

Bobby Aylward: 140. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he will take to secure a funding increase on the amount allocated (details supplied) for adult literacy provision in 2016 in advance of budget 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40211/18]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Qualifications Recognition (3 Oct 2018)

Bobby Aylward: 185. To ask the Minister for Health if he will request an organisation to expedite the degree recognition process in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40207/18]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Qualifications Recognition (3 Oct 2018)

Bobby Aylward: 186. To ask the Minister for Health the steps he has taken to improve waiting times for the process by which social workers who have qualified in the UK must apply to an organisation (details supplied) in order to have their qualifications recognised before they can start working here and avail of existing job offers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40208/18]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Nursing Staff Contracts (3 Oct 2018)

Bobby Aylward: 188. To ask the Minister for Health the steps being taken in advance of budget 2019 to improve nursing and midwifery recruitment and retention; the steps being taken to improve annual starting salaries for staff nurses and staff midwives in comparison to those of teachers and healthcare assistants; the steps being taken to ensure that Irish nurse and midwives' average weekly working hours are...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Funding (3 Oct 2018)

Bobby Aylward: 189. To ask the Minister for Health if an urgent request will be made to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to secure funding for an organisation (details supplied) through budget 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40220/18]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff Remuneration (3 Oct 2018)

Bobby Aylward: 193. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to address the restoration of pay in section 39 agencies in advance of budget 2019; his further plans to consider applying the new pay levels retrospectively; if he has costed the restoration of pay, the realignment of incremental scales and the payment of arrears due for all of the section 39 agencies; his views on the possibility of further...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fodder Crisis (3 Oct 2018)

Bobby Aylward: 232. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the possibility of introducing a low-cost loan scheme at the European investment loan rate of 1.5% will be examined in order to support farmers who have had to expend significant funds to source and transport fodder and feed as a result of severe weather conditions (details supplied) in 2018 and reduced prices for produce; and...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fodder Crisis (3 Oct 2018)

Bobby Aylward: 233. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider introducing a subsidy for a high-fibre concentrate feed to mitigate the guaranteed fodder shortage in winter 2018 following the severe spring snowstorm and summer drought in 2018; the steps he has taken to examine all available risk management tools to determine which supports are most appropriate to the farming...