Results 1,321-1,340 of 6,728 for speaker:John Curran
- National Drugs Strategy. (17 Jun 2009)
John Curran: I propose to take Questions Nos. 29, 36, 50, 52 and 53 together. I am pleased to say that at yesterday's Cabinet meeting a new national drugs strategy for the period 2009 to 2016 was approved by Government. The new strategy, which will be published shortly, includes a provision to establish a dedicated office of the Minister for drugs. Arising from the Government decision of 31 March 2009...
- National Drugs Strategy. (17 Jun 2009)
John Curran: The Deputy is well aware of the financial situation. In advance of the previous budgets we had meetings with the Minister for Finance and we will do so again in advance of this year's budget. The establishment of the office of the Minister for drugs will have one significant effect, namely, it will allow greater governance. This has been raised before by the Committee of Public Accounts....
- National Drugs Strategy. (17 Jun 2009)
John Curran: An interim arrangement is in place at the moment. Following the Government decision yesterday, I hope the new office will be established in as short a time as possible, by which I mean within a number of weeks. Not dissimilarly to the arrangements for the previous national drugs strategy, staff will come in from the other key Departments on a shared basis and we will also have the current...
- National Drugs Strategy. (17 Jun 2009)
John Curran: I will be the Minister of State with responsibility for the drugs strategy and will have the same senior Minister.
- National Drugs Strategy. (17 Jun 2009)
John Curran: To reiterate, spending on the drugs programme across Departments in the current year is quite substantial, at â¬266 million. The main focus behind the establishment of a dedicated office is to ensure we avoid duplication, deliver effective outcomes, and base our decisions on evidence. That is important. The message should not go from here today that the drugs issue is not being tackled...
- National Drugs Strategy. (17 Jun 2009)
John Curran: The establishment of the new office will facilitate much better co-ordination over a range of issues. With regard to head shops, the Deputy understands my personal view. I have grave concerns about these shops. As the Deputy knows, we have taken action on BZP and we will be considering other substances that are available. In case there is any misunderstanding, I will clarify that I am...
- Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (17 Jun 2009)
John Curran: I propose to take Questions Nos. 35, 56, 61 and 73 together. The Dial-to-Stop Drug Dealing Campaign was officially launched on 30 September 2008. The first phase ran across the following five Task Force areas in late 2008: · Blanchardstown LDTF; · Tallaght LDTF; · Dublin North East LDTF; · Dublin North Inner City LDTF; · South-Western RDTF; Following Government approval, funding was...
- Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (17 Jun 2009)
John Curran: I have had regular meetings with the Department of Justice Equality and Law Reform (D/JE&LR) since my appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy and the Deputy will be aware that I also hold office at that Department in the context of my appointment as Minister for Integration. In their overall co-ordinating role in respect of the Strategy, my...
- Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (17 Jun 2009)
John Curran: I propose to take Questions 40 and 71 together. I am very much aware of the issue of drug-related intimidation and I accept that we must re-double our efforts to deal effectively with this problem. The issue of intimidation was consistently raised during the consultation process undertaken in regard to the development of proposals for a new National Drugs Strategy. The increased levels of...
- Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (17 Jun 2009)
John Curran: Following the recent supplementary budget, the allocation for the Community Development Programme for 2009 is â¬20.9m. As the Deputy may be aware, a review of the Community Development Programme is currently underway and I anticipate findings in this regard in due course. There is an ongoing need to ensure that resources are directed in a targeted and effective manner and activities funded...
- Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (17 Jun 2009)
John Curran: I propose to take Questions Nos. 45 and 59 together. Community and voluntary organisations have an important role to play in the National Drugs Strategy at a number of levels. At a local level, through the Drugs Task Force network, they are involved in planning and developing community services. Nationally, they also make a valuable contribution to policy development through the input of...
- Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (17 Jun 2009)
John Curran: At the outset, the Deputy should note that since 1st January 2009, responsibility for the Young Peoples Facilities & Services Fund (YPFSF) is a matter for my colleague, Barry Andrews T.D., Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The National Assessment Committee (NAC) â on which my Department is represented - oversees the operation of the Fund, both administrative and financial. As part...
- Written Answers — Care of the Elderly: Care of the Elderly (17 Jun 2009)
John Curran: I refer the Deputy to my response to Questions 68 and 69 on 29 April 2009. As indicated in that reply, the Scheme of Community Support for Older People was suspended on 7th April in order to afford my Department the opportunity to review its operation. I met with representatives of organisations involved with issues affecting older people and I have agreed with them the process setting the...
- Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (18 Jun 2009)
John Curran: The position is that I intend to seek the approval of the Government for publication of the Civil Partnership Bill in the current session in line with the commitment in the Government Legislation Programme.
- Fiscal Policy. (23 Jun 2009)
John Curran: The Deputy has raised a matter on the Adjournment that has been the subject of much comment in recent days. There are two aspects to the matter. First, the question of amending the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009 to make the Judiciary subject to the deduction, commonly known as the public service pension levy, introduced by section 2 of the Act. Second, the...
- Special Educational Needs. (23 Jun 2009)
John Curran: I will reply on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney. I wish to reaffirm the Government's commitment to people with disabilities and to the national disability strategy and its long-term goals and objectives which we will continue to pursue in the coming years in partnership with all the key stakeholders. The early childhood care and education...
- Rural Transport Programme. (23 Jun 2009)
John Curran: I thank Deputy Ring for raising this important issue. The safety alarm scheme is under review. Before the recent elections, Deputy Ring asked me if the scheme was an election gimmick. We are now on the far side of the elections. The review is ongoing and the scheme will be reintroduced after the summer with new guidelines and criteria. I am glad to be able to say this after the elections.
- Rural Transport Programme. (23 Jun 2009)
John Curran: I am sure the Deputy will. Applications on hand before the suspension of the scheme will continue to be processed. Deputy Ring might have noticed that approximately half of those have been cleared. I hope that gives him some confidence in the future of that scheme. To return to the matter in hand, all of us here with an interest in rural development issues know how important an issue...
- Special Educational Needs. (23 Jun 2009)
John Curran: I thank Deputy Tom Sheahan for raising this matter and apologise on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, who could not be present. I am pleased to have the opportunity to clarify the position on the matter raised by the Deputy. The Deputy will be aware that allocations to schools typically increase or decrease depending on pupil enrolment. In the case of...
- Special Educational Needs. (23 Jun 2009)
John Curran: However, it would appear that some of the children who are enrolled in the MGLD classes in the school in question may fall within the low incidence disability category and may qualify for resource teaching support through the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. Officials in the Department have been in contact with the NCSE and I understand that the school has initiated contact with...