Results 16,981-17,000 of 18,851 for speaker:Fergus O'Dowd

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Educational Disadvantage (30 Nov 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: I welcome the Minister for Education. I want to explain to her what is wrong with the way the Department is applying DEIS school status in Ardee. There are four schools in Ardee. One of them, a post-primary school, has DEIS status, so every student who is over 12 or 13 and who goes there has DEIS status. They have special educational supports. There are three primary schools in the town....

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Educational Disadvantage (30 Nov 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: That is the same reply the Minister gave me last week, or the week before. There has obviously been no change in the Department. I urge the Minister to inquire again into the issue of gender inequality that is arising here. I appreciate her reply but ask her to listen to the point that no girl going to a primary school in Ardee is getting DEIS support, not one, while every boy is. That is...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Educational Disadvantage (30 Nov 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: What about the girls?

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Educational Disadvantage (30 Nov 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: The Minister is not addressing this. It is discrimination.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Domestic Violence (29 Nov 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: 135. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will urgently review cases whereby victims of domestic and coercive abuse who are accessing refuge services but who do not meet the criteria for IPAS/IPO status and who have not yet applied or received a stamp 4 status within Ireland, can access a weekly income instead of having to apply for exceptional needs’...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Prices (29 Nov 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: 182. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his views on urgent concerns relating to new additional energy related costs in relation to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59531/22]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (29 Nov 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: 355. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide the details for the reason that students (details supplied) are having to source and pay a psychologist to complete an assessment report in order to apply for the DARE scheme; and if there are plans to address the matter going forward; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58965/22]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (29 Nov 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: 526. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on concerns raised (details supplied); if he will arrange for the appropriate officials to progress a meeting request in respect of the role of Personal Assistants who are contracted through ETBs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58770/22]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Contracts (29 Nov 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: 609. To ask the Minister for Health the details of the awarding of a radiology contract, specifically, a DEXA scanner, to a company (details supplied); if a tendering process was required for the award; the date that this agreement was signed; the total cost of the agreement on a yearly basis; the timeline for when the agreement will finish; and if local DEXA scan providers that were...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (29 Nov 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: 627. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide the name and contact details of the relevant officials within his Department and the HSE that can be contacted by a company to propose solutions to the urgent home care assistant shortages being seen across the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58841/22]

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Schemes (30 Nov 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: 81. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will seek assurances that the role of the night-time economy advisers will be decided by an open competition call to ensure specialists in hospitality and night-time economies have an opportunity to apply; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59708/22]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (1 Dec 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: 6. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the status of the Croí Cónaithe vacant property refurbishment grant; if the current grant amounts will be reviewed to entice more persons into the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59669/22]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (1 Dec 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: One thing that is clear is that urban dereliction and decay is rampant in our country and this Croí Cónaithe vacant property refurbishment grant is a game changer in terms of incentivising occupation of these dwellings and commercial spaces, because some can be commercial, provided they have been vacant for two years and were built before 1993. Will the Minister of State review...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (1 Dec 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: I agree these are comprehensive, continually changing and improving ways of getting people into homes they so badly need. The Minister of State mentioned vacant homes officers. I think we initially paid about €30,000 or €40,000 for local authorities to keep these people in employment. In fact, it turned out that most of them were doing nothing in respect of vacant homes. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (1 Dec 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: For clarity, will there be a report from the vacant homes officers nationally so that we can read and see what they are doing? They have to be seen to be accountable. The outcome of their work must be visible and clear. I repeat that that was clearly not the case in the past. The Minister of State welcomes CPO and I respect him for saying so. Is there a plan to manage it? Will the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Schemes (1 Dec 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: Year after year.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (1 Dec 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: Something that must be addressed, and is being addressed, is the question of a skills shortages. We are short approximately 20,000 workers with the appropriate skills to build the more than 33,000 houses we want. In this respect the new centre in Drogheda for training apprentices with a €4.5 million investment will see 400 apprentices going through it over the next 12 months. This...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Housing Policy (1 Dec 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: I accept that. The Acting Chair has been very nice to me.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Policies (1 Dec 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: I want to make a point about refugees and asylum seekers. In building the modular homes, we have to be right in what we are doing and make them available to all people. We must stand up to xenophobia and racism in our country.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Policies (1 Dec 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: I was sickened to see, near North Wall, the term "Irish lives matter". Of course they do. Everybody's life matters, but people have been raped, murdered and slaughtered in Ukraine. People are saying there should be a cap on the number of them coming here. We had a cap on the number of Jewish refugees coming to Ireland during the Second World War. We stopped them from coming into the...