Results 6,061-6,080 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Teacher Recruitment (10 Dec 2015)

Damien English: I will just finish.If something needs to be changed, they are willing to do it. They get it right on this issue most of the time.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Fisheries Protection (10 Dec 2015)

Damien English: I thank Senator Norris for raising this Commencement Matter which I am taking on behalf of my colleague, Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, who sends his apologies for not being here but he is currently touring the islands.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Fisheries Protection (10 Dec 2015)

Damien English: I will ensure he gets a transcript of it. The management of wild salmon in Ireland falls within the remit statutory remit of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and its State agency, Inland Fisheries Ireland. Salmon is of great economic importance to Ireland as a commercially caught species but more particularly for recreational and tourism angling. The...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Fisheries Protection (10 Dec 2015)

Damien English: While there is a list of them, rather than going through the entire list, I stated that 26 tributaries of the Munster Blackwater were recorded with a Q-value of 4 or higher in the most recent assessment of the sites. They are all detailed for the Senator in the response. As for the main channel of the Blackwater, all sites were described as satisfactory throughout, with high and good...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Fisheries Protection (10 Dec 2015)

Damien English: I certainly will and I will investigate this personally as a contribution. I also will feed back the other issues raised by the Senator to the Minister of State, Deputy McHugh, and will ascertain whether I can feed them into the system as well. My final point is the Senator raised the issue of trees and I recall that when I was planting trees at my own house, my good friend, Mr. Bill...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Fisheries Protection (10 Dec 2015)

Damien English: I will get that for the Senator.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Fisheries Protection (10 Dec 2015)

Damien English: I would be happy to suggest that. I am sure the Minister, Deputy McHugh, would be happy to organise it because it certainly would make sense. It is about sharing information. I am conscious the Senator cited a document from 1993, whereas the research cited here probably is quite up to date. However, I am sure the two can be combined to make sure the best information is gained.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: European Globalisation Fund (15 Dec 2015)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 508, 530, 531 and 546 to 550, inclusive, together. The Lufthansa Technik Airmotive Ireland (LTAI) EGF programme application and related material is available on the dedicated EGF website www.egf.ie. The PWA International application, which is currently awaiting approval by the European Council of Ministers and the European Parliament, will be published...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (15 Dec 2015)

Damien English: I wish to advise the Deputy that Special Schools funded by my Department are intended to cater for children and young persons with special educational needs from 4 years until the end of the school year in which they reach their 18th year. At that point, the Department of Health/Health Service Executive assumes direct responsibility for young adults with special educational needs who are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (15 Dec 2015)

Damien English: Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport scheme on behalf of my Department, has confirmed that from a safety perspective there is not a suitable turning point at the school in question. Bus Éireann has advised that some of the school transport services pass the school each morning and depending on the direction that the bus is coming from, children are set down at their...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (15 Dec 2015)

Damien English: Bus Éireann, which operates the Post Primary School Transport Scheme on behalf of my Department, has advised that payment details for this family were not submitted until three weeks after the closing date of 31st July; at this stage all tickets had been allocated and the service is now operating to capacity. Should there be any change in the current position Bus Éireann will...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Fees (15 Dec 2015)

Damien English: Bus Éireann, which operates the School Transport Scheme on behalf of my Department, has advised that there are a number of concessionary, fare paying, places still available on a service which operates to the school in question. The families referred to by the Deputy should contact Bus Éireann in Athlone, phone 090 6473277, if they wish to avail of school transport on a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (15 Dec 2015)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 551 and 552 together. Bus Éireann has confirmed to my Department that they do not make a profit on school transport and my Department accepts this confirmation. As the reply of 18 September 2013 indicated, in completing its work on this report, Farrell Grant Sparks (FGS) entered into a signed confidentiality agreement with Bus Éireann having...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: SOLAS Training and Education Programmes Data (16 Dec 2015)

Damien English: SOLAS was established in October 2013. The operation of SOLAS Training Centres was transferred to the Education and Training Boards under two phases in January and July 2014. Since the transfer, training centre staff are now employees of the Education and Training Boards. The most recent statistics available are for quarter two 2015. These statistics show there were 295.78 whole time...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (17 Dec 2015)

Damien English: The purpose of my Department's School Transport Schemes is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school. Children who are not eligible for school transport, under the terms of the schemes, may apply to Bus Éireann for transport on a concessionary basis subject to a number of conditions including...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further Education and Training Programmes Funding (17 Dec 2015)

Damien English: The allocation of Further Education and Training (FET) funding to Education and Training Boards (ETBs) is an operational matter for SOLAS and I have forwarded your request to SOLAS for direct response. SOLAS took over the allocation of funding for further education and training programmes in 2014. This includes funding from the National Training Fund (NTF) for Training Centres which...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (17 Dec 2015)

Damien English: Bus Éireann, which operates the School Transport Scheme on behalf of my Department, has advised that one school transport service currently operates to the school in question and that they have no issue with safety at the set down and pick up point. Furthermore, they have advised that there is a crossing guard in attendance at the school. In general, individual school authorities...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Tendering (17 Dec 2015)

Damien English: Bus Éireann is obliged to tender all works, goods and services in line with the European Directives on public procurement. This includes school transport services performed by contractors under the School Transport Scheme, which Bus Éireann operates on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills. Bus Éireann is satisfied that the tendering process is a competitive...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Research and Development Supports (13 Jan 2016)

Damien English: In 2015, my Department was responsible for a research budget of €392m representing 53.32% of the total Government investment in R&D.The majority of this funding is administered through the various research funding agencies under the aegis of my Department as well as bodies such as the Higher Education Authority which is responsible for the administration of the Programme for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (13 Jan 2016)

Damien English: Buses provide services to carry schoolchildren both under the Department of Education & Skills School Transport Scheme and also in a private capacity hired by, for example, parents of schoolchildren or schools. Every school bus is required to be tested under the Road Safety Authority's (RSA) Commercial Vehicle Roadworthiness Test (CVRT), which is the primary annual vehicle safety...