Results 6,041-6,060 of 9,933 for speaker:Thomas Byrne

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Revised) (28 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: I might ask questions about it then.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Revised) (28 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: It is under this heading.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Revised) (28 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: I can ask the question then. It concerns the commitments the Department has made on capital spending in further education such as, for example, in respect of Dunboyne College of Further Education and elsewhere around the country. From where are they supposed to be funded? The Minister made commitments under school building lists. I will not blame the Minister for writing that list, as it...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Revised) (28 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: Will SOLAS project manage this or will it be the ETB under whose patronage it operates at present?

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Revised) (28 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: I will not dwell too much on this. It is an issue I have highlighted on numerous occasions in the past and, quite frankly, the same issues remain. There is general underfunding of the third level sector. What plans does the Minister have to increase funding from the State's purse? Even if we look back at the Cassells report, whatever option is chosen at whatever point in time in the...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Revised) (28 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: I have to say I am deeply concerned about the capital programme and I assume the Minister is also. Quite frankly, it seems the Minister does not have enough money to meet the demand for school places and, in particular, to meet the commitments his predecessor, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, made in 2015. Very little progress has been made on this particular capital plan. The number of projects, as...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Revised) (28 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: On a point of order, the question is about this year's Estimates. We can have a discussion about the capital plan again but we are talking about the here and now, or about what the Minister is doing at the moment.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Revised) (28 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: The question is on whether the Department has enough money today to provide what is needed today.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Revised) (28 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: On the final point, I have raised this in the Dáil and with officials over the past couple of years. In the context of asking local authorities about housing developments, does the Minister know the nature of the question asked? I have been told by local authority sources - I have not seen the letters so I should obtain them through a freedom of information request - that the...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Revised) (28 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: The children need to know what school they will attend next September.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Revised) (28 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: Yes. The Minister has used a new word for cuts. He said the word "cut" at one point, which is what has happened with the capital budget. Despite the number of places increasing, he said that we would have to "cut" our cloth according to the measure but, subsequently, he returned to using his buzzword "prioritise". Prioritise is the new word for cuts. The Department is not building as...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects (29 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: 1. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the action being taken to address the need for additional schools infrastructure and staffing in areas of rapidly growing population and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14681/18]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects (29 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: Could the Minister for Education and Skills tell me the position with regard to rapidly growing areas? I am not convinced that enough is being done in the Department to make sure the supply of schools and school places is sufficient.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects (29 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: I am glad to see that some action is being taken in the Department on foot of concerns that I hope the Minister's officials have raised with him because I have certainly raised them with the officials over the past year or two. I would like to know when the decision to carry out this exercise was taken because we have been told over the past number of years that everything was in hand in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects (29 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: My information is that the Department received that information from the local authority but it was not requested by the Department of Education and Skills regarding the non-large-scale developments, which is all Ashbourne has. There would not be any under the new planning process or indeed under LIHAF but the area is still growing rapidly. I am afraid the spin unit is rubbing off a bit on...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (29 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: 3. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the initiatives being taken to enable greater choice for each gender regarding the school curriculum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14682/18]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (29 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: My question probably should have been worded slightly more clearly. I am asking about shared facilities in schools. I recently met a delegation of transition year students from St. Joseph's girls' school in Lucan. They would love to be able to study technical graphics and building construction. They do not have the facilities in their school and they would like to share with a boys'...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (29 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: The question does not require an immediate and specific response from the Minister. What I am seeking, I suppose, are sentiments, and the Minister has already expressed sentiments. I was impressed by the young ladies from St. Joseph's school in Lucan who contacted the Minister about a specific case in their area, which I do not propose to address in the Chamber. They raise the important...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (29 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: I would be grateful if the Minister would consider the simple suggestion made by the young transition year students to whom I referred. Many transition year students have fantastic ideas such as this one, which would simply require the Minister to issue a circular encouraging schools to share facilities. Such a move would be welcomed by students and probably by schools. My party leader...

Other Questions: Speech and Language Therapy (29 Mar 2018)

Thomas Byrne: 7. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when in-school speech and language therapy teams will be in place; and the nature of the service that will be provided. [14451/18]