Results 2,621-2,640 of 6,137 for speaker:Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I move amendment No. 4: In page 6, to delete lines 10 to 12. Amendment No. 4 relates to the appeals mechanism. As the legislation is drafted, the mechanism operates only on the basis of how grades are transmitted to the Department. The mechanism is technical, limited and unlikely to make any difference for the vast majority of students if there is an error or problem with accredited...

Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I move amendment No. 5 In page 7, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following: "(b) Where a review is carried out, the Commission shall afford the candidate an opportunity to be heard.". These amendments relate to where there is false information or wrongful communication. It is important that there be protections and very severe sanctions but we must be confident that, where...

Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I am broadly willing to accept that. I will make a general point and then return to the specific issue. There is a bit of a difficulty with this Bill that has arisen regarding other Bills over the past year. I am referring to where regulations that follow the passage of legislation are of a significance that goes far beyond the usual significance of regulations. The regulations under...

Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I move amendment No. 6: In page 7, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following: "(7) The Commission shall not decide to withhold all or any of the accredited grades as provided for by subsection (5), where it can be shown that the candidate had no knowledge of the communication that was made for his or her benefit by the first-mentioned person. (8) Where a communication is made...

Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I will be pressing that amendment.

Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Siri does not agree. Siri does not have a vote. We discussed this matter on Second Stage. It is an important amendment. The point was perhaps misunderstood, so to clarify, there should be no toleration of canvassing or interference. There has to be a clear message to everyone, including students, parents and anyone connected with a student, that teachers and school staff are off limits,...

Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I find that difficult to comprehend. This process has already started, the company has been engaged and the Minister is recruiting another company for additional scrutiny, which I welcome. It is 19 May and we have June, July and into August for this to take shape. I do not understand why the Minister suggests this work will never be done until the results are out. I find that very...

Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: To be clear, I appreciate there is no bad faith or anything like that in not publishing this. I appreciate the Minister is not deliberately concealing anything. However, the fact remains this formula and the process connected to it will not become public until after the results are issued. It is different from marking schemes, when we take into consideration the controversies here and...

Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I move amendment No. 2: In page 5, line 24, after "appropriate" to insert "(taken as a whole and not any one individual('s) result)". I expected there to be debate on amendment No. 1. I flag to Deputies who are leaving the Chamber that I am likely to push amendment No. 3, which is coming up very soon, to a vote.

Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Yes, I have moved amendment No. 2. The purpose of the amendment is fairly straightforward. It is a concern that has been relayed to me by a number of students. A commitment was previously made that the collective junior certificate data of the cohort or year group would be used to determine the accredited grade, not any individual's performance. This is possible and as I understand it, it...

Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I am not pressing the amendment. I appreciate the Minister's response. Overall, I am broadly reassured by it that the results of the cohort will be used rather than the results of individuals. I am not entirely convinced that it makes sense for an individual student who is an out-of-school learner and who is not part of a cohort to have his or her junior certificate results used. I...

Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I move amendment No. 3: In page 5, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: "(iv) be set out in writing and published by or on behalf of the Commission prior to the issuing of results to each candidate;". I will be pressing this amendment. It is an important amendment. There was an awful lot of controversy last year and much of the discussion was about standardisation. We...

Nursing Homes Support Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (19 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: As Deputy Burke outlined, nursing home care and care homes will become a more considerable issue politically and socially in the years to come, undoubtedly because of our growing and ageing population. The Deputy outlined that there are challenges in this regard. Undoubtedly, there are but it is important that we acknowledge that it is good that people are living longer. What is important...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (19 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 136. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when school staff can expect to be paid for their work facilitating the supplementary programme. [26750/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (19 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 137. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the justification for the delay in payment of school staff for their work facilitating the supplementary programme earlier in 2021. [26751/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (19 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 143. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if work is underway to bring rural DEIS school funding in line with urban DEIS funding. [26854/21]

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (18 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I hear Deputies on the other side of the House talk about opposition for opposition's sake. It is such nonsense. There are very few Opposition spokespersons who have produced work of the same quality and detail as that of Deputy Ó Broin, with its constructive, realistic and costed alternatives, including in this motion, many policy documents and legislation. The fact is that where...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (18 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 468. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if school transport was provided to all children taking part in schools-based summer provision programmes in 2020. [25635/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (18 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 469. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount spent on transport costs for the summer provision programme 2020. [25636/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (18 May 2021)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 470. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will address the significant inequalities in pay, conditions and pension and other entitlements facing many school cleaners. [25662/21]