Results 15,601-15,620 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Operations of Oberstown Children Detention Centre (5 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: I want to get some clarification with regard to staffing because the responses received by the committee from the Department suggest that there are a number of positions which are unfilled. It says there are 45 vacancies at residential and social care worker grade and two vacancies at unit management grade. The witness said, I believe, that the maximum agency staff was seven. Are there...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Operations of Oberstown Children Detention Centre (5 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: According to the documentation there have been 84 in the first ten months but they were all-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2016: Vote 40 – Department of Children and Youth Affairs (5 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: I thank the Minister and her officials for coming in. We are dealing with two programmes. The Minister raised a specific issue, namely, the position of children in hotels and the opportunity to provide them with free transport to school, after school care and social activities. It is the right thing to do and I commend her on it. I do not know what programme it is in or whether it is in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2016: Vote 40 – Department of Children and Youth Affairs (5 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: I think the cost is under review as well.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2016: Vote 40 – Department of Children and Youth Affairs (5 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: I absolutely agree with the importance of a cross-departmental approach, whether in regard to child mental health, issues around homelessness or any of the other matters we are discussing. The Minister indicated that the delivery in regard to homeless children is not within her Department and, therefore, is dependent on funding in other areas. I am concerned there seems to be a slippage in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2016: Vote 40 – Department of Children and Youth Affairs (5 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: How does that square with the question I asked about the figures for the number of places funded under the community child care prevention programme? The 2015 output was 38,000 and the 2016 output is-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Election of Vice Chairman (5 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose Senator Joan Freeman. She is eminently qualified and has a long record working in child mental health. She has much experience and knowledge in, as well as strong commitment to, the area. It is also a priority for the committee.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Cases (6 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: 176. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the efforts made by the Irish Government to secure the release of a person (details supplied) in view of the deferral of their court case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29034/16]

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Cases (6 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: 179. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the recent efforts that have been made by the Government to secure the release of a person (details supplied) particularly in view of the deferral again of their court case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29158/16]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Human Rights Cases (11 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: 343. To ask the Minister for Health if his Department is taking the lead, on behalf of the Government, in responding to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in respect of its decision on a case (details supplied); the progress that has been made in offering remedies as instructed by the United Nations Human Rights Committee in respect of the case; if he has advanced contacts with the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Human Rights Cases (11 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: 344. To ask the Minister for Health if he has any role in responding to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in respect of its decision on a person (details supplied); if so, the role he has played in advancing a response to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29413/16]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Human Rights Cases (11 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: 386. To ask the Minister for Health to clarify his role in responding to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in respect of its decision on a case (details supplied); if he has advanced engagement with the Attorney General and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in respect of the decision since last reporting to Dáil Éireann in July 2016; and if he will make a statement on...

Financial Resolutions 2017 - Financial Resolution No. 2: General (Resumed) (12 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: I compliment the Government on one aspect of the budget, the way it has managed to spin it very well. It has managed to create a triumph of spin over substance. A supreme example is the one referred to by Deputy Alan Kelly. Old age pensioners were told that they would benefit more from the provisions of this budget when, in fact, they did better in the previous one. However, the spin has...

Funding for Education: Motion [Private Members] (18 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: It is precisely because of the power of education to make an enormous difference in a child's life and to a child's potential, particularly through investment in the early years of the child's education, that we tabled this motion. We consider education policy to be important not only in terms of the opportunities of individual children but also in developing a more equal and inclusive...

Funding for Education: Motion [Private Members] (18 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: It is also surprising that the Independent Alliance did not insist on continuing the progress on class size.

Funding for Education: Motion [Private Members] (18 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: Let me address the issue of why my predecessor, former Deputy Ruairí Quinn, had to make very difficult decisions in the early years of the last Government. It was because of Fianna Fáil destroying the country. It was due to the troika deal which meant that every Department had to slash expenditure, whether it liked it or not.

Funding for Education: Motion [Private Members] (18 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: In the first couple of years of the lifetime of the last Government every Department had to cut funding, and it was almost impossible to cut funding in education because there were constantly growing numbers. The fact that we are being lectured to now by the people who caused that is really hard to stomach.

Funding for Education: Motion [Private Members] (18 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: However, I wish to return to the point I was making. Thankfully, I was lucky enough when I was appointed Minister for Education and Skills to receive a slight increase in my budget in my two years as Minister. I was able to make some progress, even a little progress on small schools. That was after consultation with the INTO. In particular, we were able to make progress on class sizes....

Funding for Education: Motion [Private Members] (18 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: I know, but the Deputy's colleague did.

Funding for Education: Motion [Private Members] (18 Oct 2016)

Jan O'Sullivan: I was anxious to make that point. I do not have much time left so I wish to say a little about apprenticeships. I wish the Minister, Deputy Bruton, and the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, well in making progress in that area. One of the major objectives of myself and my predecessor, former Deputy Ruairí Quinn, was to increase the number of apprenticeships available in Ireland....