Results 1,821-1,840 of 8,015 for speaker:Jonathan O'Brien

Finance (Local Property Tax Repeal) Bill 2013 [Private Members]: Second Stage (Resumed) (12 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: Working class people - that is fair enough.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: NAMA Social Housing Provision (12 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: 67. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of units from the National Asset Management Agency housing stock that have been taken under control by local authorities; and the number that are occupied at this moment in time. [27057/13]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Junior Certificate History Curriculum: Discussion (12 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: I welcome the delegations. The HTAI has put its case very well. We also have a concern about this. The association mentioned the class divide in terms of how things have developed in England. The one thing which was not mentioned but which is in the submission is the Department's focus on literacy and numeracy and the importance of history and geography in developing them. There are real...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Prevention (13 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: 16. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to explicitly recognise stalking as a ground for applying for a safety order. [28240/13]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Prevention (13 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: 27. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to introduce a specific offence of stalking as has been the case in Scotland and Victoria. [28239/13]

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Vote 27 - Education and Skills (Revised) (13 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: The 20% reduction in funding for students with disabilities is listed in the document provided by the Department, which outlines the savings for 2012. It is stated that the relevant measure in this regard was fully implemented but that an additional €3 million was allocated to the student assistance fund in 2012 and 2013 to cover the increased cost. Will the Minister comment on the...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Vote 27 - Education and Skills (Revised) (13 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: Is the Minister in a position to provide a figure regarding the net savings it is hoped to achieve through this particular measure?

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Vote 27 - Education and Skills (Revised) (13 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: The saving of €11.5 million is due to be achieved in 2014. The amount for 2013 is €6.5 million and that for 2012 was €1.5 million. Are these net savings or do they just relate to the adjustment in the staffing schedules? Are teachers being redeployed elsewhere in the system? Is the amount to which I refer the net saving that is going to be achieved on foot of this...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Vote 27 - Education and Skills (Revised) (13 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: Would it be possible to obtain a figure in respect of the net saving the Department is hoping to make?

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Vote 27 - Education and Skills (Revised) (13 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: The yield initially envisaged was 100 posts and some 80 of these have been achieved. Is this due to the redeployment process or is it because teachers are reluctant to move from locations in which they may have family ties, in which they may live or whatever? Why was the full yield of 100 posts not achieved?

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Vote 27 - Education and Skills (Revised) (13 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: Did the €3 million that was put into the student assistance fund this year because of the problems with SUSI have to be found elsewhere in the budget and, if so, where?

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Vote 27 - Education and Skills (Revised) (13 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: It would be good if we can go into the details later.

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Vote 27 - Education and Skills (Revised) (13 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: I have been speaking to teachers about capitation grants, which are based on the number of students in a school. Money is being spent on the capital programme and we are building new schools and replacing prefabs with extensions. Given two schools in the same location, one may be housed in an 80-year-old building, which takes much more to heat and to run and is not energy-efficient, while...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Vote 27 - Education and Skills (Revised) (13 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: Yes.

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Vote 27 - Education and Skills (Revised) (13 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: On programme A in general, we know there will be some savings again next year under this heading because there have been some announcements on multi-annual provisions. For instance, the capitation grant is to be cut by another 1%. This was announced. Do we know the extent of the announced savings to be effected in next year's budget? How much will the budget for programme A be reduced...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Vote 27 - Education and Skills (Revised) (13 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: That is perfect.

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Vote 27 - Education and Skills (Revised) (13 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: A lot of reform is taking place, given the SOLAS legislation. One criticism continually put forward is that there is a skills deficit in the labour force. How is the Government addressing it? The Minister may want to make some general comments on that and how SOLAS will play an integral role. The legislation is very progressive. As I said, we have had three reforming pieces of...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Vote 27 - Education and Skills (Revised) (13 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: I have a question on colleges of further education. I am sure other Deputies have visited Ballyfermot College of Further Education. I will not get into the changes to the pupil-teacher ratio. One issue it raised was certification of some of its courses. Some are regarded as higher education courses. It must get certification from institutes in Scotland and England. Is that something the...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Vote 27 - Education and Skills (Revised) (13 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: On the capital budget, for the past two years there has been an underspend and a roll-over. Is there a blockage in the system or is there a particular reason for this? Significant funding is going into the capital programme. I would be the first to say that a lot of work is being done in the form of new school buildings, replacement of prefabs, etc. We can see that over the past three...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Vote 27 - Education and Skills (Revised) (13 Jun 2013)

Jonathan O'Brien: Does the backlog refer to new buildings rather than refurbishment and upgrading of existing ones?