Results 17,481-17,500 of 21,588 for speaker:Denis Naughten

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Roadmap to Social Inclusion: Discussion (23 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: I apologise to the Senator and to viewers on Oireachtas TV. For some reason, while we in the committee room could see him, he could not be seen by viewers on the television.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Roadmap to Social Inclusion: Discussion (23 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: I again apologise to the Senator and to viewers on Oireachtas TV for the fact that we cannot see him on screen.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Roadmap to Social Inclusion: Discussion (23 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: There seems to be a problem with the connection to the Upper House. I apologise that we did not see Senator Murphy on screen. I also I apologise to our viewers.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Roadmap to Social Inclusion: Discussion (23 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: The Minister of State might come back on that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Roadmap to Social Inclusion: Discussion (23 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: If members wish to come in again, they should raise their hand. Deputy Ó Cuív and I have considerable experience of dealing with community welfare officers. On the issue of discretion, an appeal of a community welfare officer's decision was never needed because there was significant flexibility. That has been tightened up. I accept the work the CWOs do in the Department of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Roadmap to Social Inclusion: Discussion (23 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: Most of this country's biggest producers of fruit and vegetables are in the constituency of the Minister of State. In terms of access to and cost of food, one of the big challenges for people is eating food in season. For example, strawberries do not grow in Ireland in the middle of winter. Perhaps working with Bord Bia I suggest that every schoolchild receives an eating in season calendar...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Roadmap to Social Inclusion: Discussion (23 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: Before we finish I want to refer to a comment made by the Minister in his opening contribution. He highlighted the commitment in the programme for Government both to end direct provision and bring in a regularisation scheme for undocumented migrants. I know that this is something that he has worked for a long number of years and it is something that I have had an interest in for a long...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: On 11 March, the National Ambulance Service began the vaccination of housebound patients, initially across the Dublin area. A week later, 300 of the estimated 1,500 housebound people in the country had been vaccinated. There has, however, been a vacuum of information since then. I cannot find out when housebound people across the west of Ireland will be vaccinated. HSE management in the...

Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Second Stage (24 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill and thank the Minister for being present. I welcome the legislation. It is a very positive development. It is a response from Government on foot of the campaign that was run last year for the extension of maternity leave for women who were on such leave when Covid-19 initially kicked in. They had been losing out on part of the maternity...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (24 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: 49. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the steps he is taking to reduce the emissions profile of the public transport fleet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14519/21]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (24 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: As the Minister will know from looking through the files in his Department, after a long and protracted battle the Government took a decision in January 2019 to not purchase any new fossil fuel buses for public transport. Disappointingly, the first double-decker electric vehicle will not go onto the streets here in Dublin until January 2023. It will be a full five years after I secured that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (24 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: Ours is a small island off the coast of western Europe and beside us is quite a large island which, funnily enough, has had right-hand drive, zero-emission buses for many years in London. The Minister, therefore, should pull the other one in that regard. In January 2018, the NTA and the Department sought a delay of 18 months on the implementation of the ban on fossil fuel buses, which...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (24 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: In places such as Heuston Station, buses already have priority. Turning to the Bill the Minister published yesterday, which I welcome, section 6 makes specific reference to cost-effective actions in the context of climate change. This comes back to the fundamental problem with the public sector expenditure code, which I had to spend a long time to get implemented by the Government. Would...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (24 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: That excuse was not used three years ago.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Cycling Facilities (24 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: 130. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to improve the standard of urban cycle lanes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14518/21]

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (24 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: 168. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if a period spent on the pandemic unemployment payment can be included when reckoning continuous service to be eligible for a redundancy payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14869/21]

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Infrastructure (24 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: 231. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 1060 and 1061 of 7 September 2018, the conclusions of the report referred to in the reply; when the report was published; the further work completed on the subject; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14495/21]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Homeless Persons Supports (24 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: 677. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if local authority housing is being used to provide isolation facilities in relation to Covid-19; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14868/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service (24 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: 888. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the formula used to allocate educational psychological assessments to primary schools through NEPS; if there is provision for unused allocations to be reallocated to other schools during the current school year; if unused allocations can be rolled over by schools to the following academic year; if multiple schools within an area can pool...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service (24 Mar 2021)

Denis Naughten: 889. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to increase the number of educational psychological assessments allocated to primary schools through NEPS; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14874/21]