Results 17,321-17,340 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Interim Report on Reduced Timetables: Minister for Education and Skills (24 Sep 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: I thank the Minister and his officials for coming before us. I agree with others that this is a very important issue that the committee has highlighted. There was very little public information on this practice and it was only when parents came across it with their children that they realised that it existed. It came to light when we looked at the transition of Traveller children from...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Interim Report on Reduced Timetables: Minister for Education and Skills (24 Sep 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: Mr. Noel Kelly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Interim Report on Reduced Timetables: Minister for Education and Skills (24 Sep 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: To take up Deputy Thomas Byrne's point on cases where a parent does not agree with a decision on reduced timetables and it effectively becomes a suspension, there should be some intermediate step between this and a section 29 appeal. The decision should not have to go straight to a section 29 appeal where it would become confrontational. I do not know whether there is a role for education...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: WorldSkills Competition 2019: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: I join the Chairman in congratulating all the participants. It is an incredible achievement, and I know that Ireland has been really successful over the years. Well done to everybody involved. One thing I feel strongly about is the fact that opportunities for young people coming out of school do not have to be the standard go-to-college, get-a-degree opportunities. I commend SOLAS on the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: WorldSkills Competition 2019: Discussion (24 Sep 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: Has the number increased in recent years? Is Ireland participating in a wider range now than previously?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Fraud (25 Sep 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: The purpose of these questions is to look further into the recently announced compliance and anti-fraud strategy which the Minister announced, particularly to see whether it is value for money and whether it is going to achieve anything, considering the public services card was also designed partly to identify fraud within the Department.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Fraud (25 Sep 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: I am disappointed that the Minister has not been able to give us some kind of costing because she was able to give us an estimate of savings, which she said were €530 million. I am not sure how she can estimate savings yet cannot estimate the cost to the Department. The previous strategy only saved an estimated €1 million so is that figure of €530 million an...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Fraud (25 Sep 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: I am referring to simplification.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Fraud (25 Sep 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: On the matter of bogus self-employment, while I welcomed the Minister's announcement I wish to ensure that she will seek prosecutions of employers. Of the 100 prosecutions for welfare fraud last year, only one could be attributed to employers actively engaging in bogus self-employment. This is something we must address. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has campaigned on this issue, as...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pensions Reform (25 Sep 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to tease out the issue a bit further. The Minister referred to complex legislation. Could she give some indication of the nature of that and the preparation that has been done for it? Could she also indicate if IT systems need to be developed? Deputy O'Dea referred to response to the national consultation which the Minister carried out. Will there be widespread public...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pensions Reform (25 Sep 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Minister referred to international experts. Are specific countries role models for what she plans to do?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits Eligibility (25 Sep 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: This question was highlighted during the recent beef protests when a number of low-wage workers in beef processing plants, some of whom were from non-EU countries, found themselves losing their employment. The question is designed to get clarity on exactly what the rights of those workers are.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: He knows.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Hospital Accommodation Provision (25 Sep 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: It is quite clear that the situation at University Hospital Limerick is intolerable. There were 81 patients on trolleys last Monday, the joint highest number ever. That figure was also reached in April and July and we are not even close to the winter which people are dreading. I want ministerial and Government responsibility to address this issue to be taken, first to acknowledge that there...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Hospital Accommodation Provision (25 Sep 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: We need more than just the Minister, Deputy Harris, acknowledging the problem. We need him to take action. One simple action would be providing the €6.5 million required for a properly functioning MRI scanner, which would address the issue of patients occupying beds and waiting for scans for which others could be in the hospital. No other region has such an inadequacy. There is a...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (26 Sep 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: 206. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when a decision will be made on an appeal or review relating to the refusal by his Department to fund a project applied for under the urban regeneration and development fund (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39140/19]

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Oct 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: I return to the issue Deputy Harty raised regarding Shannon Airport. While the Taoiseach made some encouraging noises in his response, any replies to parliamentary questions to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport indicate that Government policy is not to support Shannon, despite the fact that the Government can do so under EU rules on foot of the passenger numbers. Basically, there...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (1 Oct 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: Clearly a chaotic Brexit, including a hard border, is now on the cards. Only an election or progressive alliance of Opposition parties can now stop a no-deal Brexit and seek an extension from the European Union. Last week, my party leader, Deputy Brendan Howlin, attended the UK Labour Party conference and met a number of the key stakeholders, including Mr. Jeremy Corbyn. Mr. Corbyn has...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (1 Oct 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: Last week, the chief executive officer of Bord na Móna told trade union representatives that the company faced a dire future which will have devastating consequences for thousands of its workers. In his recent speech on climate at the United Nations, the Taoiseach spoke of a just transition. This is the first real test of a just transition, yet his Department and Government are already...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (1 Oct 2019)

Jan O'Sullivan: Only a very small part of the Taoiseach's response related to Rebuilding Ireland, which is understandable, given that Rebuilding Ireland is a complete failure. The construction of social and affordable homes has been moving at a snail's pace, as has the construction of the private homes to which Deputy Boyd Barrett referred. This week, we found out that, once again, more than 10,000 people...