Results 121-140 of 216 for speaker:Donna McGettigan

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (27 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: 1. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the progress being made with regard to the current challenges in the apprenticeship system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14864/25]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (27 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: I thank the Minister for taking my question this morning. The apprenticeship system is unfit for purpose and has been for several years now. What measures does the Minister intend to introduce to address the problems faced by apprentices and the system more generally? These have resulted in the system failing to produce qualified tradespeople at a pace that meets demand. These problems...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (27 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: While I agree that measures have been made into the phase 2, will this not push the backlog back into phases 4 and 6? We have a drop out rate of 3,400. Have they been included in the Minister's figures as well? When that number of people drop out, it shows that it is unfit for purpose. The apprenticeship system is essential to problems the Government has yet to address. Consider the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (27 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: How many of those in these figures are actually finishing? There are 3,376 who failed to finish because they are not getting paid enough. The programme for Government states that the Government would "Ensure a skilled labour force by providing practical support for on-the-job training and apprenticeship schemes and consider additional measures". Has that process begun? At what stage is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Fees (27 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: 5. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for the contributory fee; if he will maintain the cut in the fee, as has been set out in the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14866/25]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Fees (27 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: Should I ask my question or speak to it?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Fees (27 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: Yes, that is fine.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Fees (27 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: The Minister will have to excuse my scepticism. He is bamboozling me with figures on this. The programme for Government commits to continuing to reduce the student contribution fee over the lifetime of the Government. What the Minister is saying here falls far short of the commitment to reduce the fees to zero. There is no timeline for this or detail on the increments. Higher education...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Fees (27 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: Free fees worked in secondary schools and has helped Ireland greatly. There are huge issues with the SUSI grant. People who are trying to prove they are separate from their parents in order to get the SUSI grant are not getting it. There is an issue with the way in which SUSI considers people's circumstances. If you were working two years ago, SUSI will look at your income at that time,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Reform (27 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: 3. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to close the funding deficit in the university sector, first identified in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14865/25]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Reform (27 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: Under the austerity measures introduced after the economic crash, funding to third level institutions was cut. Universities were asked to more with less money. To make up the funding shortfall, a student contribution was introduced. Austerity is supposedly over and we were promised these cuts would be reversed but this has not happened. What measures does the Minister intend to introduce...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Reform (27 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: I welcome that the Minister said he will try his best to get this but this €307 million deficit was first raised in 2016. The Irish Universities Association, IUA, has said it will not fund pay increases. Has this been sorted? That also lends to this deficit. The austerity programme introduced in the State punished ordinary people and bailed out the banks and the bondholders, and it...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Third Level Reform (27 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: I ask again about the pay increases that are not being funded. That is a big issue and while I welcome increased investment in higher education, there is still that deficit to be filled. More funding does not necessarily mean better outcomes if inefficiencies persist. As students already contribute significantly through fees so there is a clear need for the Minister to assess the needs of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Vacant Properties (25 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: 456. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will report on the vacant property refurbishment grant; if he will make provision for successful applicants who exceed the time limit for the work to be completed through no fault of their own, for example, the bankruptcy of the contracted construction company. [13668/25]

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Breeding (25 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: 625. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for clarification on the breeding grant fund, which is funded by his Department and administered by Horse Sport Ireland (HSI), and where the HSI has implemented a new requirement for applicants to provide a complete insurance policy before any funds can be accessed, whether this directive comes from his Department, which oversees...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Ambulance Service (25 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: 732. To ask the Minister for Health the steps he will take to ensure that an organisation (details supplied) is provided with home base facilities in Shannon and in every area required, to enhance its work supporting the emergency services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13590/25]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Dental Services (25 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: 753. To ask the Minister for Health if dental treatment will be expedited for a person (details supplied). [13661/25]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Dental Services (25 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: 754. To ask the Minister for Health the measures she will enact to ensure both medical card and non-medical card patients who are aged-out of childhood dental services due to excessive waiting lists maintain their entitlement, that their treatment regime is uninterrupted, that their waiting time is taken into account when they are moved to the adult waiting list and they are not expected to...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff (25 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: 842. To ask the Minister for Health the number of HSE psychologists, per county, in the Midwest, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14112/25]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff (25 Mar 2025)

Donna McGettigan: 843. To ask the Minister for Health the number of HSE dieticians, per county, in the Midwest, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14113/25]