Results 11,381-11,400 of 13,291 for speaker:Joe McHugh

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: I thank the Deputy and join him in acknowledging the great innovative and creative work that is going on through distance learning. Obviously, it is not sustainable in the long run. The Deputy referred to how third level institutions have responded to this crisis. It has been incredible to watch the processes to continue learning remotely and to do examinations remotely as well. Within...

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: I thank the Deputy and take his points regarding his concerns about the new model of calculated grades. The Deputy raised the specific issue of school teacher allocation. We got the relevant information in the office today and I have asked for an inspector to make contact with the school. As the Deputy correctly pointed out, though, it is an independent process. One of the rigid...

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: I will correspond with him concerning teaching courses.

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: I am glad the Deputy raised that school again. I raised it last week as well. I have great memories of my visits there. It was involved in the P-TECH project. It was during an aside conversation with one of the teachers that I was told about that progression. The teacher spoke about the progression not just to university but to further education and training and apprenticeships. They...

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: That is the piece of work in which we are currently engaged. The post-primary stakeholders have been asked to make submissions. The majority of them have already done so. Those submissions raise queries in regard to what schools will look like in September under current health guidelines. The current NPHET distance requirement of 2 m. does not allow for 30 students per classroom. We are...

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: I thank all the Deputies who have raised the situation of fifth years. We have had individual contact from some of those students. We need to ensure we give whatever support we can to the class of 2021 because of their lost class time and their return in September with all the challenges ahead of us. We will prioritise them and put support systems in place to ensure that whatever time or...

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: I had a briefing on this issue prepared for me by the National Educational Psychological Service, so it is something we are going to be prepared for when schools go back in September and we will look at whatever resources are required. A lot of the suggestions made here tonight, be they in relation to pupil teacher ratios, extra support for guidance counsellors or similar, are budgetary...

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: The meat on the bones will very much be determined by public health advice. We are going to come up with a summer programme and present it to health officials in terms of how it will look. One of the determining features of this process is to have the voices around the table. It was important to have Down's syndrome and autism represented today, as well as the National Association of...

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: I thank the Deputy for raising this topic. He should not be hard on himself about it being 30 years since he did his leaving certificate. I am much older than he is; my leaving certificate was 31 years ago. This is an important issue. I know the school completion programme is something many young people would have availed of during the summer. When I say, therefore, that we are going...

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: I wish to say to Caoimhe and Rachel, through the Deputy, that fifth years are not being ignored. It is the subject of focus within the Department because many fifth years have lost out on curriculum time. No fifth year student had completed the curriculum for any subject in year one of what is a two-year programme. We are very conscious of that. I agree with the Deputy that it has been a...

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: I thank Deputy Berry for his question. A few schools that both the Ceann Comhairle and I would be familiar with were referenced in that last contribution, including Coláiste Íosagáin and the schools in Monasterevin and in Newbridge and the Curragh. Deputy Berry will enjoy great levels of co-operation from the Ceann Comhairle and Deputy Heydon, both of whom have been very...

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: These are the wider questions we are all going to be grappling with in terms of how we adapt to this phenomenal disruption, not just within the economy but within society, and education is going to be part of that. Certainly, from the conversations I had on Monday with my European counterparts, I know every single country in the European Union is grappling with the same issues. With...

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: I thank the Deputy for his questions and for his contribution last week. We have been deliberating on a number of areas that he raised then and he has returned to the issue of students doing leaving certificate subjects outside of school. It will be guided by the direction in the guidelines that will be published tomorrow. Schools and teachers will be given these guidelines and...

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: On the pupil-teacher ratio, PTR, for small schools, I had an opportunity last budget to reduce the PTR for one, two, three and four-teacher schools. Fine Gael also committed to reducing the PTR in future budgets. Maidir le Gaelscoil na Laochra i mBiorra, chas mé leis an gceannaireacht uilig an bhliain atá imithe thart agus tá sé soiléir sa scoil agus sa cheantar...

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: I assure Deputy Harkin that the momentum currently behind the Connacht-Ulster Alliance, CUA, for GMIT and for Mayo, Donegal and Killybegs, as Deputy Pringle will also be anxious to point out, is full steam ahead. It made considerable progress in the back end of last year and they will continue that work. It will be an important project. There has always been an historical link between...

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: This is a very important question. I assure Deputy Harkin that we are working on that and there will be further clarity tomorrow.

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: I thank the Deputy and reassure him that, while there has been a fairly long journey in recent years with respect to Killybegs and its place within LYIT, one of the things I was always clear on was that if we were to tap into tourism and marine potential in the way we need to, we need to have a place such as Killybegs, which has a good track record in that regard. My commitment in my time as...

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: I suppose. Killybegs has made a great contribution to date as part of the institution, not only given its historical track record of bringing through tourism, catering and all the other courses that have been worked on over the years, and it has a strong future. It certainly has my support. On the issues with SUSI grants, I will take all those suggestions on board. There has been a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Mental Health Strategies (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: I propose to take Questions Nos. 149, 163 and 292 together. My Department has worked closely with the Department of Health and the HSE on the In This Togethercampaign which aims to help everyone in Ireland to Stay Connected, Stay Active, and look after their Mental Wellbeing throughout the Covid-19 Emergency. The In This Togethercampaign draws together the huge range of advice and support...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Tourism Funding (20 May 2020)

Joe McHugh: My Department is conscious of the issues in the English language education sector arising from the Covid-19 outbreak and has established a Covid-19 Working Group for this sector. This group is comprised of representatives of relevant Government Departments and representatives of both students and English language education providers. As part of the wider Covid-19 response, the Government...