Results 1,261-1,280 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Order of Business (19 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: Last week it emerged that interest on SSIAs was being counted as means for third level grants. Today there is a report that families are having to borrow heavily to put their children through third level education. The third level student support Bill is on the A list to which the Tánaiste referred. Can he give any indication of when there will be reform of third level grants and when the...

Order of Business (19 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: Does the Tánaiste have any idea when this session that it will be published?

Written Answers — Electricity Sector: Electricity Sector (19 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: Question 110: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the reason he delayed the publication of the Deloitte & Touche Report on the electricity sector for so long; his plans for the future of the ESB in the context of the report's recommendations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33408/06]

Written Answers — Telecommunications Services: Telecommunications Services (19 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: Question 63: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if he will issue a Ministerial Directive to ComReg in relation to the ongoing and high telephony charges facing people here, including mobile phone termination rates and fixed line telephony costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33409/06]

Written Answers — Citizenship Applications: Citizenship Applications (19 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: Question 133: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when a decision will be made on an application under the Irish-born child section in relation to a person (details supplied) in County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33751/06]

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (19 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: Question 323: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if a site has been bought to accommodate new classrooms for a school (details supplied) in County Limerick; when the classrooms will be given the go-ahead by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33796/06]

Written Answers — Home Tuition: Home Tuition (19 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: Question 324: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when a home tuition grant will be granted to a person (details supplied) in County Cork, if there has been an administrative change in the administration of these payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33797/06]

Sexual Health and Relationships. (24 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: Question 93: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her views on whether the sex education provided in schools is adequate for the pressures of modern life in the context of the recent report, Irish Study of Sexual Health and Relationships; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34296/06]

Sexual Health and Relationships. (24 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: I accept there is sex education in schools but is it adequate considering the findings of this study? The average age for first sexual experience for Irish people is now 17 so we can assume most people are sexually active while they are still at school. Women who have sex before the age of 17 are 70% more likely to have an unplanned pregnancy and three times more likely to experience an...

Sexual Health and Relationships. (24 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: We live in an age where young people are bombarded with images on the Internet and in magazines. Would the Minister consider whether the message from schools is strong enough to counter the messages coming from the society young people must deal with now?

Literacy Levels. (24 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: Question 96: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the measures that will be put in place to improve literacy levels in disadvantaged areas in view of the failure to reach the target of halving the number of primary pupils with literacy difficulties by 2006; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34297/06]

Literacy Levels. (24 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: The report last September of the Comptroller and Auditor General on educational disadvantage shows that from 1998 to 2004 the gap in literacy levels between children in disadvantaged schools and those in ordinary schools widened. Children in disadvantaged schools are, therefore, having greater difficulty with literacy. The Minister has introduced DEIS since then but one of the points made...

Literacy Levels. (24 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: What about measuring?

Literacy Levels. (24 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: Schools lost teachers.

Literacy Levels. (24 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: They have.

Literacy Levels. (24 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: There are schools with high numbers of children with special needs who have lost teachers under the weighted model. Previously, they were allocated teachers on the basis of an assessed need but now teachers are allocated on the basis of the overall number of children in the school so they have lost. With regard to measuring, is there somebody who will report back to the Minister at a...

Higher Education Grants. (24 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: I return to the points raised by Deputy Enright which were not fully addressed by the Minister. For example, the Deputy stated that the Minister for Social and Family Affairs is in a position to make allowances in respect of his Department. When this scheme was announced, people were informed about its importance and about the fact that they would receive additional money from the...

Higher Education Grants. (24 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Government encouraged them to invest in SSIAs in addition to their other savings.

Higher Education Grants. (24 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: I understand what the Minister is saying but the point I am making is that when the scheme was introduced, the spirit of it appeared to be that one would gain the full benefit of the proportion of the money the Government was to provide. In my view, it is mean to claw it back in this way. The Minister is generally a generous woman.

Pupil-Teacher Ratio. (24 Oct 2006)

Jan O'Sullivan: I accept the point the Minister made when she said that parents should make provision when they are moving. However, I saw the television clip involving two school principals in Newbridge. They said that they have been demanding more capacity for their pupils for years, so the issue is not just about parents failing to make provision for their child a month before they move. Has the...