Results 2,421-2,440 of 16,057 for speaker:Mary Coughlan

Order of Business. (27 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: I have indicated to the Deputy the situation that has arisen, following on from the Government's consideration, and the questions that need to be answered which the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has requested. It is on that basis, under a statutory instrument, that this transfer will take place.

Order of Business. (27 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: From the Deputy's own side?

Order of Business. (27 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: Although I have no problem answering questions, if we are to continue in this way on Thursdays-----

Order of Business. (27 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: -----I would almost prefer that we adopt a Standing Order to establish something similar to Leaders' Questions, as we now have about six or seven topics-----

Order of Business. (27 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: Sorry?

Order of Business. (27 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: As a Whip, a bit of regard would be appropriate for Deputy Kehoe.

Order of Business. (27 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: If we are going to structure this-----

Order of Business. (27 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: -----perhaps we could do it within the confines that are afforded to Leaders' Questions.

Order of Business. (27 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: At least there would be a timeframe for some of the meandering questions.

Order of Business. (27 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: I will take a number of the questions that have been asked. With regard to the meeting that took place between the Taoiseach, the Minister for Health and Children, the Minister of State with responsibility for children and the relevant people within the HSE, the undertaking given by the HSE was on the validation of numbers of deaths on foot of the letter sent by the Minister of State in...

Order of Business. (27 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: May I be allowed to answer the question? The issue of legislation is appropriate. Arising from consideration by the Minister himself on Monday of this week, when he indicated he was unhappy with the situation, he has taken further legal advice and has indicated that legislation will be required to address the issues with section 31 of the Children Act 1991. The in camera rule, the data...

Order of Business. (27 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: That legislation will be introduced by the Minister as a matter of urgency. With regard to the banking inquiry, the preliminary reports will be completed on schedule by the end of May and will be submitted to the Minister in the coming days. The Government will consider them and the matter will then be laid before the House. The second stage of the inquiry will then proceed, with the...

Order of Business. (27 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: -----and the Dudley case, arguments were raised - although I will not discuss these - to allow for a judicial review, which did not take place.

Written Answers — Bullying in Schools: Bullying in Schools (26 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: There is no requirement for local school authorities to report incidents or allegations of bullying or of verbal or physical abuse of school staff to my Department, nor do I believe that this should be the case. Under the Education Act 1998, legally, all schools are managed, on behalf of the school Patron or Trustees, by school Boards of Management who employ the teachers at the school....

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (26 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the relevant assessing authority, i.e. the applicant's local authority or VEC. An applicant may appeal the decision to the relevant local authority or VEC. Where the assessing authority decides to reject the appeal, the applicant may appeal this decision to my Department by submitting an appeal form...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (26 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The school referred to by the Deputy had an enrolment of 9 pupils at 30 September, 2009. This entitles the school to 1 teaching post under the primary staffing schedule for the coming school year. It is open to any Board of Management to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeal Board. Details of the criteria for appeal are contained in the staffing schedule,...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (26 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The information requested by the Deputy on the number of special needs assistants employed in schools in the Dublin area is not readily available in the requested format. As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENO) for allocating resource teachers and special needs...

Written Answers — Departmental Offices: Departmental Offices (26 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: Due to staffing constraints the Department has decided to cease its regional office service and re-allocate staff to priority work in the Department. This decision has been taken based on a combination of factors the outcome of a review of the Regional Offices in 2009 following a Government budget decision to scale back their activity; the impact on the Department of various measures to...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (26 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The review of mainstreamed projects in local drugs task force areas, funded by my Department, is not as yet finalised. A key aspect of the review is to determine whether my Department is the appropriate location for these projects or whether funding should more appropriately be channelled through another Department or agency. In this regard, officials of the Department have held discussions...

Written Answers — Literacy Levels: Literacy Levels (26 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: Under the terms of the DEIS Action Plan, a commitment was made to extend the Junior Certificate School Programme (JCSP) Demonstration Library Project to the 50 School Support Programme (SSP) schools with the highest concentrations of disadvantage over the five years to 2010, with extension to further SSP schools to be considered subsequently. To date, the Project has been extended to 20 of...