Results 63,041-63,060 of 74,100 for speaker:Bernard Durkan

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: My point is along the same lines as that made by Deputy Boyd Barrett. The logistics of bringing relief to people who want to insulate their homes to the extent required within a short space of time is definitely going to be difficult. I am thinking aloud, which I know is a dangerous thing to do, especially in politics. One must do it, from time to time. I wonder is there a possibility to...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: There are dangers. I should mention that the Government that fell did not do so as a result of a tax on children's shoes. It fell over VAT chargeable on all clothing and footwear. The Opposition of the day selected the children's bits and that is how it has been tagged ever since. These are the type of things that happen in politics. I remember back in the 1970s when we built a lot of...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: I accept and recognise what the Minister is saying. That does not stop various ministers from all over the EU from jumping up and asking for a rebate or a reduction in VAT. There is no guarantee that that is going to happen. One thing that is sure and certain is that if the European Commission concedes to one minister, there would be a new regime all over Europe. That has to happen...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: 68. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which he continues to facilitate the provision of an adequate number of qualified academics and technicians to meet the requirements of the modern workforce; the areas he has identified as requiring special attention; his plans to meet such requirements in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58606/21]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: This question seeks to ascertain the extent to which the Minister hopes to be able to meet the demands of the workplace in respect of academic and technical placements in the short to medium term.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: I thank the Minister for his reply. Will he comment on the difficulty now experienced by the workplace in general of filling the posts that are becoming available? Does he feel it will be possible to produce the number of qualified graduates to fill those positions in academia and in the technical areas, knowing that we will face extra competition from across the globe?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: I thank the Minister for his interaction with the students in Celbridge and Maynooth yesterday. Arising from that, does he continue to be convinced of the ability to draw on more of those students when they qualify and to help them to qualify by various means and incentives between now and the next three or four years, given the urgent and pressing necessity to be able to fill the positions...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: 72. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which he continues to make provision for an increased supply of higher level graduates throughout the country, with particular reference to the need to meet the requirements of industry and academia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58607/21]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: I ask the Minister for an increased supply of higher level graduates throughout the country, with particular reference to the need to meet the requirements of industry and academia. It is a very similar question to my last one but is focused slightly differently.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: On the basis of the information currently available, is it possible to identify to a reasonably accurate extent the availability of sufficient students who can graduate in the time ahead in order to be able to fill the positions that are now becoming available very regularly, as opposed to what happened in the past, when we had to export our population to get jobs abroad? The jobs are here...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Education (30 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: The Minister made an interesting comment to the people in Celbridge yesterday. He said that nobody should be left behind and that each student is an investment in the future, in the economy and in the quality of life. It is important to recognise that and encourage the people who may feel, for one reason or another, a lack of confidence or whatever, or that they cannot compete. They can,...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: I was in the Chair yesterday when this was being discussed and I could not contribute, although I wanted to. I dealt with the pyrite situation several years ago when it became obvious at the very beginning. I agree entirely that this is something that the homebuyers or home builders could do nothing about. They were victims of circumstances outside their control. Prior to that, we had the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: I have listened patiently and carefully to the debate for the past hour or so and am a little surprised by the tone of it for this simple reason. Some of us are coming late to the table on this argument. Some of us were here before, a long time ago, and raised again and again the question of the danger of growing the rental property sector in Dublin and the surrounding towns and cities....

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: It was long before it happened.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Driver Licences (30 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: 191. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if a renewed driver's licence will issue to a person (details supplied) who requires a driver's licence in date for a business venture; if same can issue as quickly as possible as the request is time sensitive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58914/21]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (30 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: 376. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a full review of the case of a person (details supplied) will be undertaken; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58271/21]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (30 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: 385. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the progress to date in the determination of an application for jobseeker’s allowance in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58374/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Research and Development (30 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: 455. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which he sees research playing a major role in competitiveness in the future; the likelihood of meeting the demand in full; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59054/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Research and Development (30 Nov 2021)

Bernard Durkan: 465. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which his Department is upgrading the research sector with a view to maximising the benefit for Irish students and ultimately the economy in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59064/21]