Results 81-100 of 166 for speaker:Shane Curley

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Recruitment and Retention of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: I appreciate that. Is there a timeline for when that work will be concluded and when we will have a definition for SNAs going into the workforce?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Recruitment and Retention of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: Thank you. One issue we discussed earlier with Fórsa is that of gender imbalance in the SNA workforce. According to the current data, 94% of SNAs are female. What steps are being taken by the NCSE or the Department to try to rebalance that and make it a more attractive role for males?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Recruitment and Retention of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: On a positive note, in the most recent questionnaire, 95% of SNAs reported being at least fairly satisfied with their job. On the negative side, 85% reported feeling at least fairly stressed. A huge issue in that regard is that they do not actually have a full definition of their role in the classroom. That really needs to be addressed. There is a real communications gap where we do not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Recruitment and Retention of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: I thank Mr. Pike. I would welcome a response from Caroline.

Seanad: School Transport: Statements (30 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as ucht a bheith anseo arís. I will start by acknowledging the sheer scale of the school transport system in Ireland. The Minister of State has outlined some of the figures, including the fact that 178,000 students get on approximately 8,200 vehicles around the country on a daily basis, covering 10,600 routes. That is a massive undertaking...

Seanad: Pension Auto-Enrolment: Statements (30 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: I will not repeat everything that has been said about the positives of this move except to say that I hugely welcome the movement towards auto-enrolment. One of the huge positives I see that has not been mentioned today by Senators is the mobility of the fund. Nowadays, people do not have lifelong careers in one particular job as much as they did previously. The fact that the fund moves...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Oct 2025)

Shane Curley: Ba mhaith liom ceist na slándal fuinnimh a ardú. I wish to raise the issue of energy security and securing the national grid with enough electricity supply. A local solar energy company in Loughrea raised with me the issue of VAT on solar panel batteries. If we take an instance where somebody gets the grant to install their solar panels, there is a once-off opportunity to get the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Issues Affecting People with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia: Discussion (2 Oct 2025)

Shane Curley: Well said, Sive. The last time I crossed paths with the Bower they broke our hearts in the all-Ireland volleyball semi-final a few years ago. We will forget about that for now. Chuaigh Sive O'Brien go dtí an Ghaelscoil. Sa bhunscoil, bhí sí sa Ghaelscoil. I know we are primarily talking about exams today and the time that is given but outside of exams, how has Ms...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Issues Affecting People with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia: Discussion (2 Oct 2025)

Shane Curley: On a different committee with the Chairman, Deputy Crowe, the coiste Gaeilge, we are both pushing the idea that reducing the marks in the new draft leaving certificate for the oral exam is scandalous but we will get back to that on another day. Ms Bissett has been campaigning on the extra time for two years. I ask her to please keep the foot on the throttle until it is done, please. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Issues Affecting People with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia: Discussion (2 Oct 2025)

Shane Curley: I have one other question. Ms Bissett touched on this in relation to teachers. How does she find the level of training and CPD? Councillor Paul Taylor asked me a question on this. He has a background and history with the system on this. Are teachers equipped to best support students with dyslexia on an ongoing basis with up-to-date training?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Issues Affecting People with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia: Discussion (2 Oct 2025)

Shane Curley: I have one last question. I thank Mr. Ewing for the answer.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Issues Affecting People with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia: Discussion (2 Oct 2025)

Shane Curley: Are the waiting lists starting to improve since Covid? That is a question from Councillor Caroline O'Reilly in Meath. She is concerned about it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Issues Affecting People with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia: Discussion (2 Oct 2025)

Shane Curley: I thank the witnesses for being here. The mantra constantly thrown about both when I was a student in secondary school and a teacher for ten years in second level was that the leaving certificate is a test of what you know, not what you do not know. I completely disagree with that, based on evidence. Can I have a simple yes-no answer? Will the 2026 leaving certificate for students with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Issues Affecting People with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia: Discussion (2 Oct 2025)

Shane Curley: Just "Yes" or "No" please.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Issues Affecting People with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia: Discussion (2 Oct 2025)

Shane Curley: Why are we doing a pilot on something that is very evidently destroying the mental health of young people? Why do we not just roll it out and be less cautious? Ms Feeney said there are 236 permanent staff, and that number rises to 346 at peak times. She mentioned international best practice and subcontracting reviews that will cost the taxpayer millions of euro. Why are we doing that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Issues Affecting People with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia: Discussion (2 Oct 2025)

Shane Curley: No, we have no credibility. We are destroying kids' mental health by putting them through examinations. In the case of Sive, she did not finish one of her junior certificate examinations. I am a teacher who was so handcuffed by the system that I am literally traumatised by what I put kids through as a teacher. The SEC made me do that because teachers teach to examinations, so that kids...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Issues Affecting People with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia: Discussion (2 Oct 2025)

Shane Curley: I just want a yes-no answer.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Issues Affecting People with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia: Discussion (2 Oct 2025)

Shane Curley: Will Ms Feeney tell me with credibility that 17 years of zero progress on extra time for dyslexia is, as she called it, not inaction?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Issues Affecting People with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia: Discussion (2 Oct 2025)

Shane Curley: How much extra time do kids with dyslexia have?