Results 1,361-1,380 of 4,869 for speaker:Seán Haughey

Confidence in Government: Motion (resumed) (10 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this counter-motion of confidence in the Government. There is no doubt that Fianna Fáil and the Green Party had a bad election. However, it would not be in the national interest for the Government to resign now. That would compound the problems facing the country at this time. It is the duty of the Government to take decisions and to...

Written Answers — Pension Levy: Pension Levy (10 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: Vocational Education Committees (VECs) employ staff on a full-time and part-time basis to deliver various adult education courses and programmes. Under Section 2 of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009 a person is liable to pay the pensions-related deduction if he or she is a public servant on or after the 1 March 2009 and is a member of a public service pension...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (10 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: The actual cost of providing school transport services on Saturday the 6th June, 2009 is not yet available. However, Bus Éireann estimate that the cost will be in the region of €750,000.

Ryan Report on the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse: Motion (Resumed) (11 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: I welcome the opportunity to speak on this significant debate. Any person who has looked at Mr. Justice Ryan's report or, more likely, has read newspaper coverage of its contents cannot fail to have been moved by the harrowing accounts of what transpired in the institutions mentioned therein. That it was the State which was responsible in many cases for referring these children to the care...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (11 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: Under the terms of the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Needs a child is eligible for transport if s/he is attending the nearest recognised: mainstream school, special class/special school or a unit, that is or can be resourced, to meet the child's special educational needs under Department of Education and Science criteria. The pupil referred to by the Deputy in the...

Written Answers — Home-School Liaison Scheme: Home-School Liaison Scheme (16 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: Home School Community Liaison coordinator posts are provided on a full time or shared basis between schools. Due to the nature of the work of HSCL coordinators, which focuses directly on the salient adults in children's educational lives, coordinators must be deployed to do full-time liaison duties only to avoid any potential conflict of interest. The role also requires the flexibility...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (17 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport scheme, on behalf of my Department, has advised that the number of tickets issued to post primary pupils in Cavan and Monaghan, as of 31/12/2008, were 1,959 and 2,219 respectively. The number of tickets issued to primary pupils for Cavan and Monaghan in 2007 was 1,952 and 1,631 respectively; more recent figures are not readily available. The...

Written Answers — Home-School Liaison Scheme: Home-School Liaison Scheme (17 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: Home School Community Liaison coordinator posts are provided on a full time or shared basis between schools. Due to the nature of the work of HSCL coordinators, which focuses directly on the salient adults in children's educational lives, coordinators must be deployed to do full-time liaison duties only to avoid any potential conflict of interest. The role also requires the flexibility to be...

Written Answers — Youthreach Programme: Youthreach Programme (17 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: The Youthreach programme provides two years integrated education, training and work experience to young people aged 15-20 years who left school early without any qualifications or vocational training and are unemployed. There are currently almost 6,000 places available nationally under the Youthreach umbrella. Almost 3,700 of these are funded by my Department and delivered in just over 100...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (18 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: In January 2009, I announced the establishment of the Steering Committee for the Value for Money Review of the School Transport Scheme, including catchment boundaries. The review is being carried out as part of the 2009-2011 round of Value for Money Reviews approved by Government. The Steering Committee is looking at the original objectives of the scheme, whether these objectives remain...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (18 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: Under the terms of my Department's Primary School Transport Scheme, pupils who reside 3.2 kilometres or more from, and are attending, their nearest suitable national school as determined by my Department, are eligible for free school transport. However, pupils not attending their nearest national school may avail of concessionary fare-paying transport to another school, provided: (a) the...

Written Answers — Home-School Liaison Scheme: Home-School Liaison Scheme (18 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: I propose to take Questions Nos. 210 and 211 together. The school to which the Deputy refers is at present included in a rural cluster of primary schools. However, the school was also in receipt of a grant in lieu of Home School Community Liaison services under a previous disadvantage scheme. Under this arrangement the school combined resource hours with the unclusterable grant to provide a...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (23 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: My Department's expenditure on school transport for 2008 was €185.725 million. The revised allocation for 2009 is €192 million.

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (23 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: I wish to advise the Deputy that the planning and organising of school bus routes is an operational matter for Bus Éireann. School bus routes are planned in such a way as to ensure that, as far as possible, eligible pupils have a reasonable level of service while at the same time, ensuring that school transport vehicles are fully utilised in an efficient and cost effective manner. In...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (23 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: The school transport system is arranged on the basis of return journeys to and from school and arrangements are put in place to ensure each pupil travelling on a school transport service is allocated an individual seat. This level of service is necessary to ensure each pupil has a comfortable and safe journey to and from school. The school transport scheme, which is operated by Bus Éireann...

Written Answers — Alternative Centres of Education: Alternative Centres of Education (23 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: My Department has provided funding for a number of years to the projects referred to by the Deputy towards programme costs, under the Fund for the Development of Targeted Educational Responses to Certain Children at Risk. These projects have also been supported by my Department through an annual allocation of teaching hours under the Co-Operation with Other Institutions Scheme. These...

Written Answers — Educational Disadvantage: Educational Disadvantage (23 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: In May this year I announced plans to expand the remit of the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) with effect from the 1st September 2009, to include responsibility for the Home School Community Liaison (HSCL), the School Completion Programme (SCP) and the Visiting Teacher Service (VTS) for Traveller pupils as well as the National Educational Welfare Service. The expanded remit will...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (24 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: My Department has requested Bus Éireann, which operates the School Transport Scheme, to submit a report on the pupil referred to by the Deputy, in the details supplied. A decision on the pupil's eligibility for school transport will be made on receipt of this report.

Seanad: Schools Building Projects. (24 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, who unfortunately cannot be present. I thank the Senator for raising this matter as it provides me with an opportunity to outline to the Seanad the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects and also to outline the current position in regard to Rathcormac...

Seanad: Hospitals Building Programme (24 Jun 2009)

Seán Haughey: I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney. I thank the Senator for raising this issue as it provides me with an opportunity to re-affirm the Government's commitment to developing community based services at a local level. Government policy in regard to older people is to support people to live in dignity and independence in their...