Results 1,821-1,840 of 8,649 for speaker:Seán Crowe

Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (5 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: There will be difficulties for some staff, and unions will be involved in discussions. I take on board the Minister's point. Large organisations are coming together and we all agree with the spirit of the Bill. It makes sense in respect of the changes to qualifications. On the basis of the Minister's reassurance, I withdraw the amendment.

Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (5 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: I support the Minister's amendments. The board is being expanded from eight to ten, with a member from USI and from the adult education sector. Would this be a student or an adult education tutor?

Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (5 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: I concur with the Minister and thank the officials involved in working on this Bill. As I said on Second Stage, this is a detailed Bill but it is a positive step and will bring these groups together.

Child and Family Support (10 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: Question 25: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she has received the final report from the Task Force established to look at setting up the new Child and Family Support Agency; if it will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33337/12]

Written Answers — Children and Family Services: Children and Family Services (10 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: Question 49: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the distinct budget that has been allocated to the management and reporting structure being put in place in Children and Family Services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33336/12]

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (10 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: Question 173: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a breakdown, by name and location, of the 32 small schools that will lose a teacher in September 2012 as a consequence of the budget measures. [33430/12]

Written Answers — Enterprise Support Services: Enterprise Support Services (12 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: Question 11: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of seed capital scheme certificates applied for by clients of Enterprise Ireland and the number issued. [33865/12]

Written Answers — Enterprise Support Services: Enterprise Support Services (12 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: Question 16: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will promote the seed capital scheme by Enterprise Ireland. [33866/12]

Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Bill 2012: Report Stage (17 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: Eligibility is one of the major weaknesses of the Bill. On every Stage I have argued about this section. It was discussed at length on Committee Stage with the Minister and I altered my amendments for Report Stage to take on board some of his points. The fund should be opened up not just to those who applied successfully for redress but also to those who, if they had applied, would have...

Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Bill 2012: Report Stage (17 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: I have referred to the woman who spent seven years going through the courts without success. She failed because the local bishop or archbishop took a case on the basis of "an inexcusable and inordinate delay" in taking the original case. Consequently, she found herself out of the legal process. She went to the redress board where, for whatever reason, she was not successful either. She is...

Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Bill 2012: Report Stage (17 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: I move amendment No. 7: In page 8, between lines 40 and 41, to insert the following: "(i) make arrangements with persons, whether or not they are resident in the State, for the provision of an approved one off payment from the Fund, if requested,". The Minister will agree that I am being consistent in bringing forward this amendment which has been suggested to me by persons who have been...

Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Bill 2012: Report Stage (17 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: While I understand the purpose of the fund is to provide additional services, some of the survivors argue that they should be able to decide the purpose of the fund. That is the point of dispute. The Minister has his view, while many survivors hold a different one.

Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Bill 2012: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (17 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: I move amendment No. 9: In page 10, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following: "(8) (a) The Board shall make provision for the setting up of an assessment panel consisting of four members of the Board, including the participation of the Chairperson, to examine applications to the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund, made by residents of former scheduled institutions who did not make...

Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Bill 2012: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (17 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: We have gone back and forth on this matter. We discussed eligibility earlier and I firmly believe that we should not block people who clearly went through horrific times in these institutions. We should not close down the criteria or block them off. On that basis, this amendment is an attempt to deal with the issue. On Committee Stage, the Minister said such a process would be cumbersome,...

Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Bill 2012: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (17 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: We have had the discussion. By broadening the eligibility criteria we would be helping people who have been excluded from society and damaged by the State. That is why I am pressing the amendment and seeking changes in the eligibility clause.

Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Bill 2012: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (17 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: In one sense this is controversial because some survivors agree with the approach while others do not. From discussions, it is clear that there was no coming together on the issue. We tabled the amendment on the basis that many people talk about their age and the educational aspects of the Bill were not much use to them at this stage in their lives. They would like to see their children...

Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Bill 2012: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (17 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: I tabled a similar amendment on Committee Stage and discussed it, among others, with several of the Minister's officials. Ms Mary McGarry was particularly helpful in clarifying many of the issues that arose. This amendment reflects representations received from survivors in which they expressed a desire to continue working with an individual counsellor with whom they had built a...

Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Bill 2012: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (17 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: I move amendment No. 18: In page 13, between lines 36 and 37, to insert the following: "(7) The Minister shall appoint an assessment panel made up of four Board members, including the Chairperson, to assess the eligibility of new applications from former residents of scheduled institutions who did not apply to the Act of 2002 or who have had a court determination made arising out of their...

Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Bill 2012: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (17 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: When I tabled an amendment on Committee Stage to compel religious orders to make a greater contribution, I was informed that it was not possible to compel them to do so. An amendment I proposed on Report Stage on this matter has been ruled out of order on the basis that it is in the nature of a tax. As Deputy Brendan Smith noted, a requirement on the religious congregations to increase...

Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Bill 2012: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (17 Jul 2012)

Seán Crowe: I also thank the officials for the help they gave on the Bill. It was a difficult Bill and it was certainly difficult to deal with the hurt and trauma many of the survivors experienced. I was disappointed that a number of amendments were ruled out of order because they were deemed to place a cost on the Exchequer, namely, those relating to the Magdalene Laundries and Bethany Home. Some of...