Results 1,261-1,280 of 24,049 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations Reviews (2 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of times the implementation body for junior certificate reform has met since it was established; the dates on which the body met; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41931/12]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Postgraduate Enrolments (2 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of persons studying at postgraduate level in 2012/13; the way this compares to the number that studied at postgraduate level in 2011/12; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41932/12]

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services (2 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her reasons for cutting funding for the education officer in Dublin south east inner city; her plans, if any, to ensure that the work of the education officer over the past 17 years is continued; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41331/12]

Philanthropy and the Arts: Statements (3 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: The next speaker is Deputy Kevin Humphreys and he is sharing his time with Deputy Nash.

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Commemorative Events (3 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the progress that has been made on marketing the decade of commemorations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41804/12]

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agri-Environment Options Scheme Payments (3 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if payment of the agri environment options scheme has issued to a person (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42138/12]

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Foreign Adoptions (3 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position regarding Irish citizens adopting children from Florida in the U.S.A.; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42118/12]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (4 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on reports that 50,000 buy to let mortgages are in arrears; the way this is impacting on the overall housing market; his plans to address same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42307/12]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Remuneration (4 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will set out in tabular form the starting salary grade for a newly employed teacher at both primary and post primary level for each year from 2005 to 2012; the available allowances to a newly employed teacher; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42521/12]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Guidance Counsellors (9 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he has conducted an audit of the impact that cuts to guidance and counselling services at second level made in Budget 2012 is having on the student population; and the measures he plans to take to ensure that the needs of students are adequately catered for. [43235/12]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Guidance Counsellors (9 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: In the last month or so, as schools have come back for the new term, we have started to see the real impact on students on the ground of the Minister's decision in last year's budget to abolish the ex quota allocation of hours for guidance counselling. When the Minister removed the ex quota allocation last year, he told schools they had to make do with the guidance provision and take it from...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Guidance Counsellors (9 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: I do not think it is sufficient to "keep it under review" in this instance. We have already seen the impact this change has had in the first month of the school year. There is an onus on the Minister to engage with schools across the country. He has said this is now the responsibility of each school, but the reality is that the cut provided for in last year's budget has made it...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Third Level Fees (9 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will ensure that third level students and their families are not levied with a further increase in the student contribution fee in 2013; if he has examined alternative savings in the third level sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43236/12]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Third Level Fees (9 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: I note that the Minister confirmed before the Dáil today, as he did recently at an education committee meeting, that it is his intention to increase the student contribution fee to €3,000. That is a shameful position the Minister is now taking in government. Just a month before the election campaign the Minister participated in a photo call with the Union of Students in Ireland,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Third Level Fees (9 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: Will the Minister do a very simple thing and keep the promise he made to students in the full knowledge of the economic environment at the time? He stated one thing four weeks before he got into government, but now he is saying "Sorry, guys, it's going to go up to €3,000, and do you know what? I feel bad about it". Feeling bad about it is not a good enough response to students. What...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Third Level Fees (9 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: I am sorry, but the Minister's response does not add up. He was the Opposition spokesperson on education-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Third Level Fees (9 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: He was the spokesperson on education for the Labour Party in Opposition. He did not in any way qualify what he stated at that time but promised the sun, moon and stars. He said it would be no problem under the Labour Party. He told students that if he were Minister for Education and Skills, not only would there be no increase in student registration fees but he would undo the increases...

Other Questions: Mental Health Guidelines (9 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: I ask this question in the light of some of the issues I raised as Priority Questions. It is clear that greater action is required to support young people who are experiencing mental health issues and that the school environment is a place in which positive mental health should be promoted. It is estimated that at any one time one in five young people is experiencing psychological...

Other Questions: Mental Health Guidelines (9 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: This is a matter which requires urgent attention. The Minister states the programme may form part of the reform of the junior certificate curriculum. However, this reform is planned to take place in the next eight years, which is a very long time in the life of a student. There is international evidence that adopting a whole-school approach to mental health is the most effective way of...

Other Questions: Universities Global Ranking (9 Oct 2012)

Charlie McConalogue: We learned last week that our universities had again slipped down the latest rankings in The Times higher education survey, with Ireland no longer represented among the top 100 institutions worldwide. The drop in position for University College Dublin, from 159 to 187, is particularly dramatic and worrying. Trinity College Dublin is slightly up, from 117 to 110, but has failed yet again to...