Results 2,021-2,040 of 6,500 for speaker:Ruairí Ó Murchú

Other Questions (Resumed): School Accommodation (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I understand there are processes. I have had initial conversations with the school and with the Louth and Meath Education and Training Board, LMETB. Those will continue in the near future and an overall plan is probably required. My youngest son Turlough attends the school. Turlough is autistic. He is in mainstream school. I can only say, once again, very positive things. I was only...

Other Questions (Resumed): School Accommodation (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: The LMETB might even agree with the Minister.

Other Questions (Resumed): School Accommodation (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: 61. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the plans to provide additional accommodation and space for a school (details supplied) in Dundalk which is a secondary school and also a further education centre; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22884/23]

Other Questions (Resumed): School Accommodation (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Are there any plans to provide additional accommodation and space for Ó Fiaich College in Dundalk? It is a post-primary school and also a further education institute. I would appreciate if the Minister could make a statement on the matter. I think I am on the record as saying my own kids have attended the school, both at institute and post-primary levels. It does a huge amount of...

Other Questions (Resumed): School Accommodation (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I suppose on some level this is one of the few instances where it crosses the Minister's Department and also that of the Minister, Deputy Harris, in respect of further education. I could be slightly off on my figures but I am going to say the school has a relatively small population of 275 but it is operating in a DEIS area. I can only speak in the highest terms about the specific...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Autism Policy: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I apologise for being late. I heard everything that was said in the meeting while I travelled in the car on my way here. To say I did more than hear it would be madness. I managed to take some notes when I was stopped at red lights. I have spoken to Mr. Harris before about these issues. A huge amount of work has been done by members of the committee. Fair play to the Chairman, who has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Autism Policy: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I am fairly sure Mr. Harris answered. That was a lot more coherent than the questions he was asked. I imagine the Cathaoirleach will deal with this. In my garble, what I managed not to see until now is the issue of augmentative and alternative communication, AAC. Specifically we saw rapid prompting method, RPM, working with Fiacre Ryan, but at some level, we are not too worried. Whatever...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Autism Policy: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I am curious. Will Dr. Craddock further explain the issue of the off-ramp and the 60 km/h? I get some of what he talked about regarding the difficulties with shared spaces. I am tangent-ing on this, not for the first time. When I was on the transport committee, we dealt with a huge piece on e-scooters. We heard from the National Council for the Blind and a number of organisations...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Autism Policy: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Louth County Council attempted to do it but with one of the pieces of work we all gave out that it was going to slow traffic. I will not get into the rights and wrongs of how it worked out but it was that idea. Where there was insufficient room to put a cycle lane it became a shared space. The idea was that it would work on the basis that one slowed everything down. I am not sure if it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Autism Policy: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: It was not going to work.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Autism Policy: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: That is the problem. We are in the age where context does not exist.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Autism Policy: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Of course it is, and probably making more sensible options. It is also accepting that we are not going to get a lot of these things perfectly right and systems will need to be constantly reviewed. We all get the idea that the best case scenario is that the research is done. Reasonable accommodations can never be perfect but they can be better. If we can build guidelines in, well then...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Autism Policy: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Rather than the long term.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Autism Policy: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: We are living longer so it is going to be a bigger issue. As elected representatives we come across these cases and they are always a disaster but half of the problem is that the house is not suited to the alterations that are needed, or the cost is just too much

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Autism Policy: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: That is it. The National Disability Authority will have its cost benefit analysis.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Autism Policy: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: What about the autism-specific piece?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Autism Policy: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I would imagine it is the same elsewhere.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Autism Policy: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: One is also doing it in the context of trying to build in active living and all of those other factors.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Autism Policy: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: And also for those who do not need to use it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Autism Policy: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2023)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: The context includes the fact that we have a huge housing issue in general and that we need more, quicker and better.