Results 3,461-3,480 of 6,188 for speaker:Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (11 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 802. To ask the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) is exempt from mandatory hotel quarantine given the medical circumstances. [24157/21]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion (Resumed) (11 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: There is a lot of focus this afternoon on online safety and cyberbullying, an issue I raised last week. It has never been easy to be a teenager but when I listened to the witnesses, I am very glad I am not a teenager in the 2020s and do not have to navigate all the hazards that exist with social media. I am sure it has many benefits but there are very considerable pitfalls as well. One...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion (Resumed) (11 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I have a question for Mr. O'Connor from Inclusion Ireland. His submission and earlier comments eloquently outlined the importance of inclusive education. I am slightly moving into a wider issue, but I believe it is relevant. Many parents I have spoken to have concerns about the much-discussed New Brunswick model and they would be keen for children to have tailored supports in an...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs (12 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I thank the Minister for attending. I am pleased the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is present as well. Perhaps they can have a conversation afterwards and the Minister of State can give the Minister an insight into the conditions at the school. St. Gabriel's does incredible work. There are over 40 children at the school aged between four and 18 years with severe to profound...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs (12 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I do not have much to add to what Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan said. I can be critical of the Minister, but I commend the provision of the new school in Cork. That is very welcome and important. I will take this opportunity to point out that it is unfortunate that the medium- and long-term plans of another national school were discommoded in that regard. I urge the Minister to ensure...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (12 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: A fortnight ago, the hopes of many pregnant women and their partners were raised on foot of some of the speculation and leaks relating to maternity restrictions only for them to be dashed the following day. What happened the following day was that what is in effect throughout most of the country was dressed up as an advance and as something new. I am one of those partners who, I have to...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (12 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: We need look much beyond that. Will the Government direct the hospitals to put in place a minimum standard-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (12 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: -----well beyond that relating to 20-week scans and neonatal visits?

Loan Guarantee Schemes Arrangements (Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland) Bill 2021: Second Stage (12 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Small and medium-sized enterprises have been hit desperately hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. Across the country, business owners have been put to the pin of their collars. Family businesses, which may have gone down through generations, have had to close their doors because of the pandemic. Many of them may never open up again. It is vitally important that we support as many of them as...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Schemes (13 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 63. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps she has taken to remove disincentives for staff volunteering to facilitate the summer provision and DEIS summer programmes. [25042/21]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Schemes (13 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: It is widely acknowledged that the children who lost out most during lockdown were those with special educational needs and those in situations of disadvantage. I and Sinn Féin called for the largest ever programme of summer provision and for the DEIS summer camps to be extended beyond DEIS schools. I welcome the fact that significant funding has been announced and there is a wider...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Schemes (13 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: We called for an expansion in DEIS and in the summer provision for children with special educational needs. I will not criticise the provision of additional funds because it is what we wanted. However, I am concerned that there is a significant difference between eligibility and the ability to apply and the spaces that will exist. The problem is we are right down to the wire. There was a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Schemes (13 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: My understanding of the guidance that is there is that it is the broad principles of the programme, rather than the detail that schools need. I will move on to pay-related issues. I will identify three issues and ask the Minister of State to respond to each directly because they are all vitally important. There was a passing reference in Tuesday's announcement to earlier payment of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (13 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 65. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her views on the current position that the religious ethos of a school can impact the relationships and sexuality education, RSE, curriculum being taught in that school; and the legislative changes she will make to ensure the RSE programme is uniform, age appropriate and fully inclusive across all schools. [25043/21]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (13 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: RSE is vitally important. It is also vitally important that we get it right, because if we do not then we risk our children growing into adults who potentially have a feeling of being othered, a disfigured or unhealthy understanding of sexuality and a feeling of exclusion and discomfort within the educational setting. The Minister will be aware that there is a significant amount of concern...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (13 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: A couple of matters arise. The first concerns timescales and when we are going to see some of that work come back because we cannot have it going into the never-never. The second is more a question of principles. Schools are at liberty to teach in this way when there is no objective sexual education curriculum. Where it is the view or the ethos of the school that a relationship should be...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (13 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: The Minister has partially answered one question but she has not answered the others. Many parents are alarmed at the content of some of the religious-based RSE programmes being introduced in schools. We can talk about parental choice but the reality, particularly at primary level, is that many parents do not really have a choice. The vast majority - nine out of every ten - national...

Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021: Second Stage (13 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: We are debating this legislation primarily because of the campaigning voice of leaving certificate students. They have been through a difficult two years, having lost out on months of in-school learning, with profound uncertainty and stress about what was going to happen. It appeared until earlier this spring that they were facing a system telling them that a traditional leaving certificate...

Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021: Second Stage (13 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: May I raise a point of order?

Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021: Second Stage (13 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: It is important that my position is not misrepresented.