Results 541-560 of 4,787 for speaker:Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Further Education and Training Bill 2013: Committee Stage (1 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I am happy to withdraw my amendment on the proviso that we return to the issue before Report Stage. As Deputy O'Brien has said, I do not see why adult learners should be passive anywhere throughout the Bill. They have to be consulted and have to be an integral part of it. If we are mentioning employers in the Bill, that would imply employer organisations, adult learners and those who speak...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Further Education and Training Bill 2013: Committee Stage (1 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: Amendments No. 34 and 37 are similar to the ones we moved in the previous section about bodies representative of adult learners and community and voluntary bodies, so hopefully their spirit will be accepted and we will return to it on Report Stage as needs be. On amendment No. 30, which I have jointly submitted with Deputy McConalogue, the service would have to "prepare and submit to the...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Further Education and Training Bill 2013: Committee Stage (1 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I understand the Minister's concerns. If the only way for me to advance this is to withdraw the amendment, I will do so and discuss it before Report Stage. If we do not prescribe functions in legislation, however, then they just do not happen. There was much good work done by FÁS and decent people doing a good job on the ground, but there were other services and undertakings that the...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Further Education and Training Bill 2013: Committee Stage (1 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: We have a way forward, which I accept. While symbolism is important, these amendments are not about symbolism. The wording of the amendment states “to prepare and submit to the Minister a strategy to raise adult literacy and numeracy levels.” That is not symbolic. That is a statement of intent and a reasonable objective. There have been plenty of tokenistic symbolic...

Topical Issue Debate: Children in Care (8 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an gCeann Comhairle as ucht seans a thabhairt dom an ábhar seo a chur faoi bhráid an Aire. I am delighted that the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, is here to discuss this issue. I express my disappointment, however, that this House will be debating the X case legislation for the next two and...

Topical Issue Debate: Children in Care (8 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I appreciate the action the Minister has taken in this regard. If the Minister is appalled and the Ombudsman for Children is shocked at the lack of data, then I am comforted by the fact the Minister has sought to change this. We cannot work on policy to empower the most vulnerable of young people unless we have statistics. Considering schools are falling down on adapting to children in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Managing Back to School Costs: Discussion (8 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I thank the guests for being here. I have been working on this report for some time and we have heard presentations from the patron bodies, which were interesting as well. Submissions have been received from various bodies and they have been well received. There are two issues. The first is the costs themselves but the second is the capacity of a parent to pay them. We need to consider...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Managing Back to School Costs: Discussion (8 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: My question is: how can we challenge that? All the relevant parties appeared before us here and stated it was an individual localised arrangement.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Managing Back to School Costs: Discussion (8 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: It is an honest question. I do not know how they feel we could-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Managing Back to School Costs: Discussion (8 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: The issue of competition between schools is a driving factor in many of the unnecessary burdens that are placed on parents. Although the central issues here are voluntary contributions, books and uniforms, there is a legislative way we could go down in terms of changing the relationship we have with patron bodies. Patron bodies guard their independence as sacred and the responsibility of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Managing Back to School Costs: Discussion (8 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: The report will be at the beginning of June.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Alcohol Pricing (14 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: 611. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on his plans to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol; and on the measures, if any, he plans to take to tackle alcohol abuse [22315/13]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Integrated Ticketing (14 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: 734. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has considered the introduction of a zoned system for LEAP cards in Dublin similar to the one used by Transport for London in the UK; and if not, the reason for same. [22439/13]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Narrow Water Bridge: Discussion (16 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I thank the witnesses for their presentations. Everyone here is in agreement on the importance of this project. What practical steps can this committee take to advance the project? Is there a letter the committee could write or a representation we could make on behalf of the project? Who should such a letter or representation be made to? I am interested in the practical steps that could...

Topical Issue Debate: Crèche Inspections (29 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I do not want this controversy to distract the Minister from her intention of providing a second year of free child care in the next budget. We must examine the entire model, however, because effectively we are funding private companies to deliver a public service. Does the Minister not think it is time for the Department of Education and Skills to have a central role in this to roll out...

Topical Issue Debate: Crèche Inspections (29 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I thank the Minister for her reply and I know her commitment to the area is unquestioned. In her reply she indicated that none of the children depicted in last night's programme would have been in receipt of the free preschool year as they were too young. If we are to convince the Irish people that we need a second free preschool year, we will have to deal with younger children and we must...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Drugs Payment Scheme Expenditure (29 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: 222. To ask the Minister for Health the cost of the high tech drugs scheme in 2012. [26003/13]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Exploring Education and Overcoming Social Disconnection: Discussion with Minister for Education and Skills (30 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: It was something like that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Exploring Education and Overcoming Social Disconnection: Discussion with Minister for Education and Skills (30 May 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I thank the Minister for attending. One reason I was looking forward to this conversation was that, in the northern context, we believed this committee could determine how it could be of benefit in the educational sphere. The Minister has touched on many of the issues already. When analysing some of the areas we have been to and some of the issues that underpin sectarian tensions in the...

Topical Issue Debate: Water and Sewerage Schemes Provision (11 Jun 2013)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this issue and thank the Minister for being here in person to discuss it. The Minister has seen the reports that Fingal County Council has identified the site at Clonshaugh as the potential site for its sewage treatment plant. I am sure he is familiar also with the concerns of local politicians and of residents' groups. Effectively, what...