Results 28,861-28,880 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: Slowly but surely, the Department of Education and Skills and the National Council for Special Education are retreating from special education in mainstream schools, and they are consistently undermining it by developing wrong models. Special education is under-resourced at the moment and it is not prioritised by the Government. I have met with the parents of children with special needs,...

Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: At the moment parents are waiting because adequate resources are not being put into the assessment and diagnosis of children with special needs from an early age. The new proposal is for schools to take in the children and avail of a general allocation, whereby they can intervene even without a professional diagnosis. It is also shoving everything back to the parent, because the parent will...

Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: I find the Taoiseach's response extraordinary because nobody seems to know what is going on in the Government. The Taoiseach is saying he cannot understand the idea of a child not needing a professional diagnosis.

Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: It is what the Minister is proposing. This is the document. There was a meeting of 500 people recently in UCC being briefed by the National Council for Special Education, and it is saying that one of the benefits of the new system is that parents will not have to wait for a professional diagnosis any more. The idea is that there is an educational intervention without any professional...

Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: Sorry?

Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: I will not have time in a minute to read it all out. It is a presentation entitled "Delivery for Students with Special Educational Needs: A Better and More Equitable Way," from the Irish Learning Support Association annual conference.

Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: This is the Minister's document. Here it says-----

Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: "No waiting for diagnosis; No unnecessary labelling".

Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: If one looks at last year's circular on special needs assistants and at this, one can see a fundamental retreat from special education in mainstream schools. That is what it amounts to. It is talking about standardised tests, social context and the whole idea of a special ring-fenced-----

Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: -----and child-centred approach to special education is going out the window. The phrase "unnecessary labelling" is insulting to parents. One does actually need a definition-----

Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: -----if one is on the autistic spectrum. That is not an unnecessary label. One does need to know that. A parent needs to know where the child is on a particular spectrum. If one has Down's syndrome, it is not an unnecessary label. It has implications in terms of education requirements and provision. The whole thing is stealthily endeavouring to undermine the edifice that has been built...

Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: -----from what his own Government is proposing in relation to these issues. I ask him to change it and to stop it.

Order of Business (24 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: The programme for Government contains many chapters. I ask the Taoiseach to indicate whether, even at this late stage, there will be any redrafting or updating of the programme for Government, in particular, whether the entire section dealing with universal health insurance will be formally deleted from the programme for Government and whether there will be a ceremony to announce formally...

Order of Business (24 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: On a specific issue, delivering equity in education, the programme for Government states, "We will consider recommendations of the review of the DEIS programme and use it as platform for new initiatives to deliver better outcomes for students in disadvantaged areas." DEIS suffered cuts of 15% over two years ago. Those cuts have never been reversed, particularly for DEIS band 2 schools. In...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland Issues (24 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: First, I join others in wishing the Northern Ireland First Minister, Peter Robinson, the very best in his retirement. I dealt with him in my capacity as Minister for Foreign Affairs and negotiated with him in the context of the devolution of justice and related matters over a three-year period. In many instances I found him straight up in negotiations, although he came from a difficult...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland Issues (24 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: No, I certainly did not.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland Issues (24 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: In fact, if one watches all the interviews I gave, I am very clear about wanting the talks to succeed and wanting the institutions to survive.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland Issues (24 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: It is not Sinn Féin's process, it is everybody's process. It belongs to the people of Ireland. A number of aspects of the agreement would concern people. The financial package does not quite add up and there is a bit of play going on in terms of changing six years to four years and taking money from one department to fund another department. In fact, in some respects, the package is...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland Issues (24 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: Yes.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland Issues (24 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: The issues with the UUP and the SDLP have not just started this summer. There has been a lack of inclusivity around how the Executive works. I would put that to the Taoiseach. Will he indicate to me whether any progress was made on the need to involve all parties on the Executive in a much more inclusive way in terms of the governance of Northern Ireland, particularly in terms of the...