Results 2,401-2,420 of 3,797 for speaker:Ciarán Cannon

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: FÁS Local Training Initiatives Expenditure (17 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: The breakdown of the 2012 FÁS funding of €31.998 million for Local Training Initiatives is as follows: Training Allowances in lieu of DSP payments €18.505 millionGrants for Co-ordinator and asst. co-ordinator €9.221 million Materials & Administration; €4.272 million; Reasonable grants are available for running costs based on actual expenditure incurred and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (17 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 128 to 130, inclusive, together. Under the terms of my Department's School Transport Scheme, a pupil with special needs will be eligible for transport if s/he is attending the nearest recognised: mainstream school, special class/ special school or a unit, that is or can be resourced, to meet the child's special educational needs under Department of Education...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (17 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: The school transport schemes are operated by Bus Éireann, on behalf of my Department, and currently transport over 114,000 children, including about 8,000 with special educational needs, to and from school throughout the school year.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (17 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: The school transport schemes are operated by Bus Éireann, on behalf of my Department, and currently transport over 114,000 children, including about 8,000 with special educational needs, to and from school throughout the school year.

Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (16 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: The case the Deputy raised has prompted the Minister of State, Deputy Kelly, and I to look closely at the suggestion the Deputy is making. We have established a working group between my Department, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, and the HSE to investigate how we can best use our scarce resources for transport in all rural areas. This would encompass school transport, rural...

Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (16 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: We are investigating all possibilities for integrating and amalgamating transport. It would include school transport for the young people to whom the Deputy has referred. Distinct possibilities are opening up in the areas he suggests, but it needs to be done in a considered and careful way across the school transport system, rather than on an ad hoc basis.

Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (16 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. School transport is a very significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on the Department's behalf and covering over 82 million kilometres annually. Approximately 114,000 children, including more than 8,000 children with special educational needs, were transported in the last school year on a daily basis to schools throughout the country....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme Eligibility (16 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: Learners enrolled in courses provided under the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) who have been in receipt of an eligible Department of Social Protection payment for more than 312 days directly before the VTOS course commencement date qualify for an additional payment of €20 per week. I understand that the person referred to by the Deputy does not satisfy this...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (16 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: The purpose of the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Needs is to provide a reasonable level of transport service for eligible children with a diagnosed disability and/or special educational need.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (16 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 234 to 236, inclusive, together.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (16 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: The Deputy will be aware of the changes to the Post Primary School Transport Scheme that were introduced from the commencement of the current school year.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (16 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme, children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kms from and are attending their nearest education centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language. Eligibility for school transport is not determined by way of subject choice.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: FÁS Training Programmes (16 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: In relation to running Training Courses for the unemployed, the person in question could be advised to go the eTenders website regarding FÁS Contracted Training and complete the pre-qualification application, which also gives instructions regarding what to do. In addition he could contact Skillnets (www.skillnets.ie) who may be able to provide further options. However, regarding the...

Topical Issue Debate: Student Grant Scheme Applications (11 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I wish to impress the importance of the applicants taking a degree of personal responsibility when submitting information. I doubt if the description of the long form of the birth certificate was not available on the website and that applicants were not made aware that this was the required format. The Deputy is correct that the system was delivered in a very short time period. Any new...

Topical Issue Debate: Hospital Staff (11 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: The funding pressures now being experienced in the health services mean that the acute sector must reduce its costs in order to deliver the agreed level of activity within the resources available to it. Hospitals must concentrate on maximising efficiency and getting the best possible services for patients from the budgets available to us through cost-containment measures such as a reduction...

Topical Issue Debate: Hospital Staff (11 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I am not aware if that is the case. One would suspect that in a time of very scarce resources and when we need to continue channelling those scarce resources to the front line of the health service that any efficiencies that can be achieved through outsourcing back office or support services could be replicated across the whole hospital system. I must stress that in the case of Drogheda...

Topical Issue Debate: Higher Education Institutions Issues (11 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: It is most disappointing when failings in financial controls of the magnitude of those which occurred at WIT are discovered. I assure the Deputy that more stringent controls have been put in place in WIT. In addition, financial controls and audit mechanisms are in place in all higher education institutions. However, the arrangements in this regard vary across these institutions and the HEA...

Topical Issue Debate: Student Grant Scheme Applications (11 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I thank Deputy O'Brien for raising this important matter. As he stated, a new, fully centralised online student grant application system was launched in June. This system is being operated by a central grant awarding authority, Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, which has been established as a unit of the City of Dublin VEC. Up to last year, students applied to 66 different local...

Topical Issue Debate: Higher Education Institutions Issues (11 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. The issues raised in regard to expenses which occurred in the past in the office of the president in Waterford Institute of Technology are of serious concern. It is incumbent on all public sector organisations and governing authorities to ensure public funds are expended in an appropriate manner. It is simply not acceptable for scarce public money...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Post-Leaving Certificate Courses (11 Oct 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: The allocation referred to by the Deputy is the number of Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) places allocated to County Kildare Vocational Education Committee (VEC).