Results 16,701-16,720 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I thank Deputy McDonald for her question. I am surprised she is not praising the Government for providing an increase for 850,000 people who have not received an increase for eight years, including carers, people with disabilities, people on invalidity pension, blind persons and the unemployed. I would have thought the Deputy would particularly welcome the fact that, for the first time, we...

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I am surprised at the Deputy, when she is the very one who opposed the FEMPI legislation which applied progressive cuts and under which the cut in the Taoiseach's pay was 41% and people, while those on the very lowest rates of pay were not subject to any cut.

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The legislation to provide for a fair allocation of the burden was brought before the House and voted on, but Deputy Mary Lou McDonald was one of the those who refused to support it.

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: Deputy Mary Lou McDonald is shedding crocodile tears when she says some individuals should not receive pay increases.

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: We are being very clear. The Government will lead on this issue. Once again, Ministers will not be accepting the pay increases to be awarded under the restoration of pay arrangement that applies elsewhere. That is to be welcomed.

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputy for her question. It is important to bear in mind that well over 200,000 Irish jobs are directly dependent on our trade. In the face of Brexit which will put pressure on companies selling into the UK market, it is important that Irish businesses gain access to other markets such as the Canadian market. This is an agreement which has been negotiated between the European...

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: It is important to recognise that this agreement, even before the negotiating started, guaranteed under its terms that no public service could be interfered with. It guaranteed that there could be no diminution in health, safety or workers' or other rights as a result of the agreement. It provided for protection for many of the things about which people are concerned. Of course, there has...

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: This has been an issue for some time. As the Deputy knows, the agreement has been negotiated over a number of years, so the Minister is very alert to those concerns, as are other Ministers. Modifications have been made to the agreement to take into account public concerns. It will come back for ratification in the House, as normal, and the Deputy will recognise the value of it.

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I compliment the effort of people working on the front line in the health service. It has been a very difficult number of years for them. We have had almost a lost decade in terms of investment in the health service when we would have been building capacity in key areas and that has not been possible. However, despite that and despite a near 10% reduction in the number of people working in...

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I understand the budget will come in on target, we will wait and see at the end of the year. I also understand that the provision being made this year for a €900 million increase will allow the HSE to develop a service plan, soon to be available to Members, that will show significant improvement in service across the board. The plan will be monitored very closely to make sure that it...

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue because it is very important. I assure the Deputy we are recruiting extra people to NEPS and it is within our provision. As part of the programme for Government we have committed to increasing the NEPS service by 25%. This year in the budget we have made provision for 900 additional resource teachers. This is specifically designed to reform the...

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: As I indicated, the programme for Government commits to a 25% increase in the staffing in NEPS and this is one thing we will implement. We are also trying to move to have less reliance on the types of assessments to which the Deputy rightly said disadvantaged children have less fair access. We are moving away from this high reliance. For example, we are simplifying accommodation of exams...

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The reform of the junior certificate is a huge investment in our young people and it is designed to ensure a much more balanced assessment of the way their learning is done and the way it is measured. Under the new approach, there will be a certificate of achievement, which will measure the projects they have been involved in across a range of subjects, thereby valuing intelligence of...

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I regret that Deputy Martin is seeking to play political football with something that is really important. It is unheard of to advocate, in this House, that the State examination system, under which we provide an assessment of every child in the country, should be undermined because one trade union has decided not to co-operate in teaching it over the past number of years.

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: That is a very irresponsible approach. Deputy Martin should be asking the ASTI to allow the derogation so that children who have studied the curriculum can sit the full examination as intended.

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: We have to defend the integrity of the examination system. We cannot have an individual unions deciding that it will undermine something that has been negotiated with all the trade unions over years and agreed by all except one, in a vote in which there was only a 38% turnout. Now the children may not get the opportunity to sit that part of the exam.

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: Deputy Martin should not be playing political football with this as it is something that is important to our children. The ASTI should allow the pupils to sit the exam as intended.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Support Schemes (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The main support available to assist students with the cost of higher education is the student grant scheme. I understand that the individual in question already holds a level 8 degree. One of the criteria in the student grant scheme relates to 'progression'. This means that a student must be moving from year to year within a course, having successfully completed the previous year or be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: In April 2016 applications were invited for the patronage of nine new post-primary schools to be established in 2017 and 2018, including the new post-primary school to serve the Limerick City & Environs (South-West) area. The closing date for receipt of applications for this process was 8 June 2016.  Patrons submitted with their application a parental preference template in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will appreciate that in the absence of all of the relevant details that would be contained in an individual's application form, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means, it would not be possible for me to say whether or not a student would qualify for a grant or what level of grant would be appropriate. The decision on...