Results 2,921-2,940 of 3,797 for speaker:Ciarán Cannon

Written Answers — European Globalisation Fund: European Globalisation Fund (14 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I am precluded by the provisions of the Data Protection Acts from releasing the specific personal information sought by the Deputy. A redundant worker who meets the criteria of the EGF Regulations and who is included in an EGF application which is subsequently approved by the EU budgetary authorities, may avail of the measures provided under the approved EGF programme even where such a...

Written Answers — Adult Education: Adult Education (9 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I am aware of the matter that the Deputy has raised and officials in my Department have contacted the VEC and resolved the issue. I should advise the Deputy that currently participants in the Back to Education Initiative (BTEI) who would be eligible for the Youthreach or Senior Traveller Training Centre (STTC) programme may be eligible for a training allowance, on a pro rata basis. Budget...

Written Answers — European Globalisation Fund: European Globalisation Fund (9 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: Full details and statistical information on the number and types of responses from the cohort of 8,779 redundant workers who were notified by the Department of relevant EGF services under the EGF construction programmes on 19 December 2011 are contained in a report prepared recently for the Department by WRC Social and Economic Consultatnts Ltd. who are providing certain administrative and...

Written Answers — European Globalisation Fund: European Globalisation Fund (8 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: A letter of initial response was received by the Department on 3 February 2012 from the European Commission in relation to the submitted Final Report on the Dell EGF Programme. The European Commission's letter contains a number of questions on the Final Report for the Irish authorities and initial calculations on the financial contribution to the programme. The substance of these matters is...

Written Answers — European Globalisation Fund: European Globalisation Fund (8 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: The listings of the employers of those redundant workers in sub-sectors NACE 41, 43 and 71 of the construction industry in support of whom three EGF applications for co-financing under the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) were made by the Department and subsequently approved by the EU budgetary authorities, and which listings were required to be supplied by the Irish authorities...

Written Answers — European Globalisation Fund: European Globalisation Fund (8 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: WRC Social and Economic Consultants Ltd. are contracted by the Department to provide certain administrative and technical support services to programmes funded by the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) in Ireland. The consultants have prepared a report for the Department which provides certain management information on the implementation of the three ongoing EGF co-financed...

Private Members' Business: Community Employment Schemes: Motion (Resumed) (8 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I thank all Members for their contributions and for taking the time to debate this important issue of community employment. I wish to restate the Government's commitment to prioritising jobs. The Government is committed to spending more than €960 million on employment supports, including €350 million on community employment schemes, in 2012. This will result in an increase in overall...

Private Members' Business: Community Employment Schemes: Motion (Resumed) (8 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: In order to find savings of €475 million in the budget, it is necessary to examine all aspects of expenditure of the Department. The savings of €27.5 million that the Government had identified in the budget represents a reduction of 7.5% in the overall 2011 CE spending of €360 million. The Government recognises the valuable contribution that CE can make. However, as with all such...

Private Members' Business: Community Employment Schemes: Motion (Resumed) (8 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I can assure the House that the contribution of community employment to the range of groups that participate in the programme, from lone parents to jobseekers and the support they offer to local communities, will be enhanced and more focused as a result of the changes being undertaken by the Department of Social Protection.

Seanad: Investment in Education: Motion (8 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I thank everybody for their contributions to the debate, passionate and heartfelt as they were. It is important to set out the context for this debate and the budgetary pressures we are under. We cannot ignore the reality that we are relying on funding being provided through the EU and IMF programme for the provision of our day-to-day public services. Nobody else will lend us the money we...

Seanad: Investment in Education: Motion (8 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: The idea that Senator MacSharry would be able to waltz into the Department of Education and Skills tomorrow morning and find savings that have somehow escaped the scrutiny of officials who have worked in the Department for ten or 15 years does not stand up. He has argued that we should forget value for money but I argue that doing so has led us to our current position.

Seanad: Investment in Education: Motion (8 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: There is an argument that €15 million is a paltry amount but it is not. This echoes the comments of a former Minister, Noel Dempsey, not long after the e-voting debacle when he described €60 million as not a lot of money either. A third of all public sector employees in this State work in the education sector, so it has never been possible to completely exempt staffing levels in...

Seanad: Investment in Education: Motion (8 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: Even when all of the phased increases are implemented, the threshold for a second teacher at 20 pupils will still be significantly lower than the minimum of 28 pupils that was required for the appointment of the second teacher in rural schools prior to the late 1990s. School communities should have no reason to feel that there will be a forced closure of their local school, and no school...

School Staffing (8 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I am here to respond to the education topic.

Pupil-Teacher Ratio (8 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I am taking this topical issues debate on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn. I thank Deputy Ferris for raising the matter as it affords me the opportunity to explain to the House the reasoning behind the changes to the staffing schedule. Schools in Gaeltacht areas historically have operated the same staffing schedule as ordinary schools for the...

Pupil-Teacher Ratio (8 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: I reiterate that there is no attempt on the part of the Government somehow to set aside the very important work being done in furthering the national language and ensuring those who wish to pursue their education through it are given support in every way possible. The preferential pupil-teacher ratios that exist in the small rural school system are in place for a reason. Deputy Martin...

Pupil-Teacher Ratio (8 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: -----and would make what Deputy Martin Ferris and his colleagues in Sinn Féin have to say seem much more credible.

Pupil-Teacher Ratio (8 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: The Deputy is not talking about funds.

Pupil-Teacher Ratio (8 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: That is correct.

Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (7 Feb 2012)

Ciarán Cannon: There are almost 6,000 Youthreach places available nationwide under the Youthreach umbrella funded by my Department. Almost 3,700 of these places are provided by VECs in just over 100 Youthreach centres. The majority of the remainder of places are provided by FÁS in Community Training Centres. I am aware that there is significant demand for further education and training programmes in...