Results 1,201-1,220 of 3,797 for speaker:Ciarán Cannon

Seanad: Road Signage (20 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I thank the Senator for the opportunity to address this issue today and I am replying on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Leo Varadkar. The Minister has responsibility for overall policy and funding for the national roads programme. However, the planning, design, and implementation of individual national road schemes, including the provision of...

Seanad: Road Signage (20 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I will undertake to pass on the Senator's concerns to the Minister.

Written Answers — Apprenticeship Programmes: Apprenticeship Programmes (21 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: This is a day-to-day operational matter for FAS. I am informed by FAS that in order to become an apprentice applicants must be at least 16 years of age and have attained a minimum of grade D in 5 subjects in the Junior Certificate or equivalent. Where individuals do not meet the minimum educational requirements they may be registered as apprentices by an employer if prospective apprentices...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (26 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: Bus Éireann, which operates the School Transport Scheme on behalf of my Department, has advised that it has no record of an application for school transport from the family referred to by the Deputy. In general, school transport eligibility is determined by reference to the distance children reside from their nearest primary/post primary school having regard to ethos and language. In...

Written Answers — Departmental Programmes: Departmental Programmes (26 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: Following the Government Decision to create SOLAS, an Implementation Group was set up to establish SOLAS. I am chairing this Group and its membership includes representatives from the Department of Education and Skills, FÁS, the Irish Vocational Education Association, the Department of Social Protection, the Department of the Taoiseach, and a representative from the private training sector....

Education and Training Boards (27 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: Following the Government decision to create SOLAS, an implementation group which I chair was set up to establish the entity. A public consultation on the establishment of SOLAS involving key stakeholders was completed earlier this year. The heads of a Bill for the establishment of SOLAS have been approved by Government and I expect to publish this legislation during the autumn session....

Education and Training Boards (27 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: It is our ambition to have it before the end of the year.

Education and Training Boards (27 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: The SOLAS implementation group has primarily been working to create a roadmap for the amalgamation of the education and training boards and the further education and training functions of FÁS. We have established two pilot programmes, in Cork and Dublin, to carry out a paper exercise of assessing the challenges and issues that might arise as a result of the amalgamation. We are trying to...

Education and Training Boards (27 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: The Minister, Deputy Quinn, and I have been anxious to engage with employees of FÁS and the VECs. Several weeks ago we held an enlightening meeting with the chairs and CEOs of the VECs in which we addressed a number of concerns in the VEC sector regarding what the future held for the new entity. I share Deputy Smith's concern that when SOLAS comes into being, people should be able to trust...

European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (27 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: My Department has submitted final reports to the European Commission in respect of the Dell, Waterford Crystal and SR Technics programmes co-funded by the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund or EGF. The Deputy should note that as yet, none of these programmes has been formally closed by the Commission and, as such, the amounts of the reimbursements cannot be finally determined. However,...

European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (27 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I want to point out that the first application to be lodged by this Administration, and managed in its entirety from beginning to end, will be the TalkTalk application in Waterford. The Deputy seems somehow to conclude that it is the intention of the EGF process to expend all the money to which one can gain access. That is not, and never has been, the case in this or any other country. EU...

Written Answers — European Globalisation Fund: European Globalisation Fund (27 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: As the Deputy will be aware, my Department made an application to the European Commission for co-financing assistance under the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund on 29th February 2012 for those workers made redundant as a result of the closure of the TalkTalk facility in Waterford including in a number of ancillary enterprises. During the months of March and April, the Directorate...

Written Answers — Education and Training Boards: Education and Training Boards (27 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: Following the Government Decision to create SOLAS, an Implementation Group was set up to establish SOLAS. I am chairing this Group and its membership includes representatives from the Department of Education and Skills, FÁS, the Irish Vocational Education Association, the Department of Social Protection, the Department of the Taoiseach, and a representative from the private training sector....

Written Answers — European Globalisation Fund: European Globalisation Fund (27 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: A total of 808 former construction workers and apprentices have made contact with the EGF Construction Contact Centre between 19th December 2011 to 27th April 2012. These are distributed as follows: Being processed (mainly applications for training grants): 152; Enrolled/ participating/ completed course: 331; Engaging with service provider (mainly through guidance):113; Referral to County...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (27 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: Changes to the Post Primary School Transport Scheme are being implemented from September 2012. The main change to the current scheme means that from the 2012/13 school year, school transport eligibility for all pupils newly entering a post primary school will be determined by reference to the distance they reside from their nearest Post-Primary Education Centre having regard, as heretofore,...

Written Answers — European Globalisation Fund: European Globalisation Fund (27 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: A number of steps have been taken to improve the availability of information on EGF issues at local level and to deal with the type of difficulties that were raised previously in this regard. In December 2011 the Department, through the auspices of FAS, established an EGF construction contact centre for the three EGF construction sector programmes then ongoing. Similarly, in March 2012 a...

Written Answers — European Globalisation Fund: European Globalisation Fund (27 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: Final reports on the S R Technics and Waterford Crystal EGF programmes were submitted to the European Commission on 5 April 2012 and 6 February 2012 respectively as required under the EGF Regulations. Final reports on the three EGF programmes in support of redundant workers in the construction industry subsectors NACE 41, 43 and 71 are required to be submitted to the Commission by 9 December...

Written Answers — Further Education and Training Programmes: Further Education and Training Programmes (27 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: The role of the SOLAS Implementation Group is to manage the change process involved in establishing SOLAS within the context of a wider ambitious programme of reform of the training and further education sectors. As such it is considering the broad policy orientations required for the new agency and the sector in general. As part of this process a public consultation on the establishment of...

Written Answers — Skills Development: Skills Development (27 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: The role of the SOLAS Implementation Group is to manage the change process involved in establishing SOLAS within the context of a wider ambitious programme of reform of the training and further education sectors. As such it is considering the broad policy orientations required for the new agency and the sector in general. This includes the need for courses to be responsive to changing skills...

Written Answers — Further Education and Training Programmes: Further Education and Training Programmes (27 Jun 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 79 and 81 together. The Government's activation policy, 'Pathways to Work', provides for engagement by the National Employment and Entitlements Service with unemployed people, particularly the long-term unemployed, with a view to assisting them in finding jobs or referrals to appropriate education and training. To complement this policy, and despite reducing...