Results 1,801-1,820 of 2,965 for speaker:Robert Dowds

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: That is fine. I will terminate my comments sooner because Deputy Penrose is a much greater expert in this area than I am. I hope these provisions will stand up when challenged, as it is important for the sake of those who live around such extremely difficult tenants. I appeal to the Minister of State to consider if it is possible to have a similar provision where people in private rented...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: Cuirim fáilte roimh an bhfoireann ón Roinn. As someone who has been paid for many years by the Department I acknowledge that in general, the Department has been a good paymaster and pay for teachers has always arrived on time. I wish to record that fact and thank the Department. I have a few questions about general spending. The Secretary General has outlined the amount...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: Which might be coming from other Departments.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: I have a related question. To what extent does the Department monitor the impact changes in funding might have on the quality of third level education being provided?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: Turning to capital expenditure, I presume that most of the figure of almost €453 million is accounted for by the construction of buildings and so on?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: To what extent does the Department control that spending, particularly in the area of primary education? When a school gets the go-ahead to construct a new building or classroom, for example, am I right in saying primary control at that point rests with the board of management, rather than the Department? Is it essentially the case that the Department passes over a tranche of money to the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: Perhaps I might clarify why I am asking this question. I cannot go into the details of the individual school because I do not have sufficient evidence, but an allegation was made to me regarding the construction of a new school building which had been given the go-ahead from the Department to the effect that the builder was not employing people according to the regulations. Specifically,...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: To clarify, the school in question is a traditional school under Catholic management.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: Part of the point I am making is that this type of thing is not something in which a school wants to get involved, its primary concern being to get the building up and running. I appreciate that the education and training board would have the mechanism to check out such things, but in the case of the traditional school under Catholic or Protestant patronage, or even an Educate Together...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: The concerns put to me came from people who were working on the site in question and had lost their positions.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: Therefore, Mr. Ó Foghlú is stating that if a union had serious concerns, it could discuss them with someone in the Department of Education and Skills.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: Will Mr. Ó Foghlú explain how the €380 million set aside for skills development is used?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: Yes. It is listed as being for skills development in the outturn for 2012.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: Yes.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: Therefore, it primarily relates to adults.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: In the context of skills development for primary and secondary school teachers, what level of funding is provided? One of the Department's core aims is to ensure there is a well skilled body of teachers working in schools. How has the funding in this regard changed in recent years and how is it going to develop in the future? I presume there will be a need for a fair amount of investment...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: In a sense, it was obligatory for teachers.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: Therefore, the Department is trying to ensure there will be less casualisation in the teaching profession. This phenomenon seems to have grown to a great degree at both primary and secondary level. I presume the position is the same at tertiary level. Casualisation places teachers in a very difficult position over a long period.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: Is the fact that too many primary level teachers are being trained, particularly by non-State institutions, part of the problem? When I was training to be a teacher, there was a good balance between the number of people being trained and the number of jobs available. That does not appear to be the case now.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Robert Dowds: I wish to move on to one or two other issues and then I will conclude. Under the residential institutions redress subhead, there is an underspend of almost €32 million due to the lower than expected number of applications that have been finalised by the board. Can Mr. Ó Foghlú give me some information on that and the reason for the low numbers? Was there an increase in...