Results 6,901-6,920 of 8,015 for speaker:Jonathan O'Brien

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report 98: Provision of School Transport (13 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: Bus Éireann school bus drivers are not being replaced on retirement. Rather, the services are subcontracted to the private sector.

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report 98: Provision of School Transport (13 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: Is there a figure for the annual cost of those drivers' pensions? Some €3 million for future pensions for school bus drivers was set aside against the surplus. What does that €3 million cover? Does it cover the next five years or ten years? How many drivers does it cover?

Public Accounts Committee: Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report 98: Provision of School Transport (13 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: That is all recouped. The Department picks up that tab.

Appropriation Bill 2018: Second and Subsequent Stages (18 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: We will not object to the passing of this Bill. As the Minister of State has outlined, it is a necessary piece of housekeeping that must be undertaken before the end of the year. It is the second last day of the Dáil term. I know some people will be critical of the Bill being presented so late but I understand completely why we have had to wait until all the Supplementary Estimates...

Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2018: Second Stage (18 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: I will be equally as brief as Deputy Cowen who said the Bill will put the Parliamentary Budget Office and the Office of the Parliamentary Legal Advisers on a statutory footing. We have seen the benefits of the Parliamentary Budget Office, in particular, in some of the material it has published for the Committee on Budgetary Oversight throughout the past 12 months. Sinn Féin will not...

Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2018: Second Stage (18 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: We will settle for one general election and the quicker it is held the better.

Data Sharing and Governance Bill 2018 [Seanad]: Report Stage (18 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: We dealt with these amendments on Committee Stage and on the day, the Minister of State withdrew them to give us an opportunity to engage with his officials, which we have since done. We had more than an hour of engagement with them last week on the Bill. We would not support them on Committee Stage because they contained wording of amendments inserted by Senator Higgins in the debate in...

Data Sharing and Governance Bill 2018 [Seanad]: Report Stage (18 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: We met officials and said that we would like to hear what Deputies Clare Daly and Wallace would say on the removal of their amendments, because they had been supported on Committee Stage by all parties, including Fianna Fáil and ourselves in Sinn Féin, with the exception of the Government. I have a straight "Yes" or "No" question for the Minister of State. If somebody refuses to...

Data Sharing and Governance Bill 2018 [Seanad]: Report Stage (18 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: It is my understanding - perhaps we can receive some clarification on it - that the default position is that data are shared and that all the amendment is looking for is a mechanism to be put in place to allow people to opt out if they so choose. That is my understanding of the wording of the amendment. If that is the case, somebody should have that option. If people do decide to opt out...

Data Sharing and Governance Bill 2018 [Seanad]: Report Stage (18 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: We are supporting the Government on this and we thank the officials for the clarification.

Data Sharing and Governance Bill 2018 [Seanad]: Report Stage (18 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: We liaised with the Minister of State's officials on this issue. The Minister of State withdrew the amendment on Committee Stage to allow us engage with his officials and we said to his officials, during our briefing, that we have major issues around the procurement process. It is flawed in many areas and needs to be reviewed. We will support the Minister of State on this particular...

Data Sharing and Governance Bill 2018 [Seanad]: Report Stage (18 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: Can I ask why it is not being proposed to take Fifth Stage now? I did not agree. I am asking why it is being proposed to put it back to the new year. It is very unusual. Having dealt with Report Stage tonight, I would rather continue to Fifth Stage. It is not my issue if the Minister of State's nose is out of joint at some of the amendments that have been passed, it is his issue. I...

Data Sharing and Governance Bill 2018 [Seanad]: Report Stage (18 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: That is not agreed.

Data Sharing and Governance Bill 2018 [Seanad]: Report Stage (18 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, what has happened here tonight is an absolute disgrace. Nobody on the benches opposite can ever accuse anyone of bullying in the workplace again after what happened here tonight. People were bullied by the Government tonight and it should be put on the record that their actions were an absolute disgrace.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (18 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: 186. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if an appeals procedure for staffing allocations to special schools will be implemented (details supplied). [52761/18]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (18 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: 187. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the fact that his Department and a person (details supplied) deny having responsibility for adjudicating an appeal from a special school, stating that such responsibility rests with the National Council for Special Education, which, in turn, argues that it rests with his Department, leaving special schools in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Data (18 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: 188. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to implement a study of the requirements for special school places particularly in the area of ASD and complex needs (details supplied). [52763/18]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (18 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: 189. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a review pertaining to the reduction in paperwork requirements for special schools, particularly the personal pupil plans when requesting one extra SNA, will be implemented. [52764/18]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Health and Safety (18 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: 190. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on what is a reasonable timeframe for a response from the NCSE when violent behaviour is reported and staff continue to deal with said violent behaviour in the interim, taking into account the professional judgment of the principal, as they deal with the issues raised on a daily basis. [52765/18]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Education Review (18 Dec 2018)

Jonathan O'Brien: 191. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a review of the report of the Special Education Review Committee from 1993 will be carried out, in view of the fact that the report is now 25 years old, requirements have changed and the pupil profile has changed significantly but resources have remained the same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52766/18]