Results 1-20 of 608 for at speaker:Pádraig O'Sullivan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Capital Projects and Operations: Iarnród Éireann (24 Jan 2024)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: To be fair, I must say at the start that massive investment has gone into Cork. It is great to see such ambition, especially on the eastern line and the Mallow line as well. We are very appreciative of all the progress made. Starting with the electrification of the track in Cork, it is great to see this happening. It has started. When are we likely to see electric locomotives and...

Estimates for Public Services 2023: Programme for Government (5 Dec 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: ...issue of rare diseases. While I welcome much of the progress we have achieved in the past two years in government, particularly with the number of drugs to which people have access - more than 80 at this stage, which is great progress - I still feel somewhat disappointed that next year's budget did not contain a stand-alone budget for new drugs for rare diseases. I know the savings from...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (29 Jun 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I appreciate the response from the Minister of State, who has also outlined his disappointment about the uptake. It behoves us to look at this again, albeit that the initial quota was announced in December 2022. Seven months is not a long time, in particular in terms of how we deal with issues here. There is a pay threshold that can prove problematic for what are often relatively lower...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Prices (20 Sep 2022)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: It was encouraging to hear other members of Cabinet and Government stating that in the event of the introduction of windfall tax, we would be looking at it over the totality of the year so that it would be retrospective. That is welcome. I have another point in relation to something the Minister said at the end of August in an RTÉ "News At One" interview regarding such a measure...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (7 Mar 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: The irony of what Ms Ní Chéileachair is saying is not lost on me because I have two children at preschool at the moment and they are doing all of those things. It does not make sense that it is not being done-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Flood Relief Schemes (8 Feb 2024)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I ask the Minister of State to list all the flood relief schemes county by county and outline the stage of development each is at. He might give me the national figures and the stages they are at, and I can get the county-by-county list afterwards in the written response.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Bus Services (13 Feb 2024)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I support the premise of what Deputy Burke has put forward. We have also had conversations about the retirement age for drivers, or the age at which they are not allowed to drive for Bus Éireann in particular. However, we all have anecdotes. I have often driven to matches and so on, as a school teacher, with a bus driver who is well into his 70s. We have always arrived safely at the...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Jan 2022)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I would like to raise with the Taoiseach today the issue of autism spectrum disorder, ASD, provision in secondary schools in particular. I spoke to the Taoiseach privately about this in the past, and I have spoken about it publicly here in the Dáil. At present, small villages outside the city of Cork, such as Dripsey, Farran and Berrings, have three, four or often five ASD classes....

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs (19 Jan 2022)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: The response gives me an update on the figures but it still points out a concerning ratio in the provision of ASD places from primary versus secondary school. In Cork, we are now at 228 at primary level and 81 at post-primary level. There is, therefore, still almost that 3:1 ratio of ASD provision from primary versus secondary, particularly in Cork where the pinch point is. It is when kids...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: United Nations (18 Nov 2021)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: 29. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the actions Ireland has taken at the United Nations Security Council and at the European Union to help bring an end to the conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia; the funding Ireland has provided in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56297/21]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Flood Relief Schemes (8 Feb 2024)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: At the same time, though, I find myself dealing with many of these planning quagmires that we encounter and discuss. Blackpool aside, I will make a general point. We seem to discuss processes and respecting the process rather than the material subject at hand and the real difference it will make once undertaken. I am highlighting this issue once more so that the foot is not taken off the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Large-scale Capital Projects: Transport Infrastructure Ireland (14 Feb 2024)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: Sorry to interrupt but to clarify, let us say a road is at planning and design stage and TII is engaging a contractor or consultant to do it. Is Mr. Walsh saying that at that stage, if something is built into the planning and design phase, when it goes out to tender, it can be accommodated in that way and anything subsequent reverts to the local authority?

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Health Services Staff (6 Jul 2022)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I thank the Minister of State for the response. I have two questions on the response and then I will conclude with a few other remarks. The Minister of State said the HSE has identified a minimum recruitment target of 5,500 whole-time equivalents alongside a more challenging stretch target. What is a stretch target? What does that mean? Is the Minister of State telling me that the 5,500...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (7 Mar 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: My apologies for being late as another committee meeting was on at the same time. I have some brief questions and I would prefer to hear the answers from our guests rather than listening to me rambling on. Having worked as a teacher in a DEIS school for 15 years, I would be particularly interested in opening this question to anybody who might wish to answer it: what measures we are taking...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (8 Jul 2021)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I reiterate what previous speakers have said. Like Senator Murphy, I suppose, when you initially took up the job as Chair, my viewpoint was to get on with the work and crack on, but in light of these alleged comments - like Deputy Devlin, I have not heard the interview - and that article, I would appreciate it if you could clarify the situation, whether at this meeting or at a future one....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Leaving Certificate Reform: Discussion with School Management Bodies (28 Sep 2021)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I am happy for that debate to continue because it covers what I was going to start with. I apologise for missing the first half of the debate. I was in the Chamber, but I have been listening. To reiterate what Mr. Curtis said, we have an over-fascination with leaving certificate points and league tables. We all acknowledge that the system we have at the moment is not perfect. At the same...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Review of Out-of-School Provision Report and Education and Supports Provision for Ukrainian Students: Discussion (1 Jun 2022)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I welcome the Minister and Minister of State. Like previous speakers, I believe we have debated this issue for a good while. The report was instigated in 2017 and I suppose it must be welcomed that it is now being published. At least we know where we are at. Many of us were waiting eagerly for the report. When I got a chance to read it a couple of weeks ago, my initial reaction was that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Future Funding of Higher Education: Discussion (Resumed) (17 May 2022)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: When I was teaching, I noticed that more and more girls, particularly at second level, were taking on STEM subjects, especially woodwork, metalwork and so on. It was encouraging to see that progressing over the years. How are we fixed at third level in regard to female participation? Is there more that we can do to encourage it? Should there be specific grants to encourage greater female...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Flood Relief Schemes (8 Feb 2024)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: As I said, I am asking for the overall figure nationally and whether a project at stage 1, stage 2 or whatever. This relates to the broader point of trying to clarify how many are at stage 1 and identifying any delays. I have spoken previously about schemes that have been beset by problems and I want to get an overall picture of how many are stuck, for want of a better adjective. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: An Inclusive Education for an Inclusive Society: Discussion (28 Feb 2024)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I will ask one supplementary question and comment on what Ms Walsh just said. Are we ever going to move to a model where CPD is not mandatory? It could be done as part of the Croke Park hours or whatever, but there would be no compulsion to do it whether a person is teaching in an ASD class or not. Should we not move towards a model where if an Irish and history teacher is teaching in a...