Results 3,061-3,080 of 4,869 for speaker:Seán Haughey

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (29 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: Under the terms of my Department's Primary School Transport Scheme, pupils who reside 3.2 kilometres or more from, and are attending, their nearest suitable national school as determined by my Department, are eligible for school transport. Bus Éireann has informed my Department that the pupil referred to by the Deputy is attending his nearest national school and resides 2.9 kilometres from...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (22 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: As the Deputy is aware, Bus Éireann is responsible for the operation of the School Transport Scheme on behalf of my Department. The employment of the individual referred to in the details supplied is a matter between Bus Éireann and the individual in question.

Written Answers — Disadvantaged Status: Disadvantaged Status (15 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: The process of identifying schools for participation in DEIS, was managed by the Educational Research Centre on behalf of the Department of Education & Science and supported by quality assurance work co-ordinated through the Department's Regional Offices and the Inspectorate. The ERC's overall approach was guided by the definition of educational disadvantage set out in the Education Act...

Confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government: Motion (15 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: The Government has already welcomed the publication of the two recent reports on the banking crisis and it is prepared to accept responsibility for decisions made at the time. One of the factors which resulted in our present predicament was the property bubble but in the interest of fairness it must be pointed out that the Taoiseach, as Minister for Finance, decided to do away with property...

Confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government: Motion (15 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: It is more constructive to analyse our current problems, investigate what actions can be taken now and fine tune the Government's strategies to prepare us for the economic upturn when it inevitably comes.

Confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government: Motion (15 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: It is now widely recognised by independent commentators that we are taking the right approach and making the tough decisions. The Central Bank, the IMF and the ESRI are broadly in favour of the economic policies we are pursuing. Other bodies, such as the European Commission and the OECD, forecast a return to positive growth in the near future. The fact we are meeting our budgetary targets...

Confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government: Motion (15 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: Opposition Members are responding as theatrically as possible by instigating a confidence motion and a blame game. However, they are unable to suggest realistic or viable alternatives to the policies this Government is pursuing. As they cannot win the debate on current economic issues, they think it is better to muddy the waters by casting doubt on our policies, even to the extent of...

Confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government: Motion (15 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: However, the mudslinging will not work. The Government is pursuing the correct policies under the leadership of the Taoiseach and for that reason I am happy to support the motion.

Written Answers — Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme: Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (10 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: The Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) is a full-time second chance education initiative designed specifically for unemployed persons over 21 years of age. Its primary target groups are the longer-term unemployed, the low-skilled and the disadvantaged. Latest figures (1 January 2010) indicate that there are 861 VTOS participants (359 males and 502 females) under 25 years of age.

Health Services (3 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: The overarching policy of the Government is to support older people to live in dignity and independence in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. Where this is not possible, the Health Service Executive supports access to quality long-term residential care where this is appropriate. In line with this overall approach, a priority of Government in recent years has been to...

Prison Accommodation (3 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern. At the outset I reject the accusation that the Minister is without moral compass. Unfortunately prison overcrowding is not unique to this country. It is happening in many countries. The Minister is on record as saying before that there is no instant or quick fix solution. Rather the approach must be...

Demonstration Library Programme (3 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: I welcome the opportunity, on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Coughlan, to outline the up-to-date position regarding the demonstration library project that forms part of the junior certificate school programme, JCSP, literacy strategy. The JCSP has operated in schools nationally since 1996, as an intervention at junior cycle for students who, for a...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (3 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: The arrangements currently in place for school transport annual charges, namely €300 per eligible and concessionary post primary pupil, €200 for concessionary primary pupil and a maximum family charge of €650 will remain in place for the 2010/2011 school year. As the Deputy will be aware eligible primary children and children with special educational needs are currently transported...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (3 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: The Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, established the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) with statutory responsibility to ensure that each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education. The remit of the Board was expanded in 2009 to include responsibility for the Visiting Teacher Service for Travellers (VTST), the Home School Community Liaison...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (3 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: I wish to advise the Deputy that the arrangements currently in place for school transport annual charges, namely €300 per eligible and concessionary post primary pupil, €200 for concessionary primary pupil, or a maximum family charge of €650 will remain in place for the 2010/2011 school year. Discussions on the 2011 estimates have begun and the recommendations in the McCarthy...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (3 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: I wish to advise the Deputy that the exceptional school transport arrangements, which heretofore have been made available to Traveller children only, have been reviewed in line with the Report and Recommendations contained in the Traveller Education Strategy published in 2006. This Strategy was finalised following a comprehensive consultative process and was overseen by a group which...

School Absenteeism (3 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: The National Educational Welfare Board, NEWB, is the statutory body with responsibility for school attendance. The board compiles statistics based on attendance returns at the end of each school year. The findings from these reports help to identify trends in school attendance. The most recent statistics on national levels of school attendance are contained in the report, Analysis of...

School Absenteeism (3 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: The Deputy will be aware of a certain amount of unhappiness on the part of teachers regarding the bureaucracy associated with this matter. Under the Act, schools are required to report on school attendance for the year. This can only occur at the end of the year. Each year, the board receives the schools' reports and conducts a process to correct some of the information provided. For...

School Absenteeism (3 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: Schools are also required to report absences exceeding 20 days or where there is a concern about the absence profile of a child. The published figures relate to the 2007-08 period. I do not agree that they are significantly out of date, having regard to the information I have supplied to the House. Nevertheless, I could take the Deputy's comments on board and endeavour to have the figures...

School Absenteeism (3 Jun 2010)

Seán Haughey: It should be said that, under the Education (Welfare) Act, responsibility in this regard rests primarily with parents and schools. We would all accept this, yet there is still a need for intervention by the NEWB. If a child has been absent for more than 60 days, the educational welfare officers become engaged in his or her situation, but only after all other efforts have failed. As I...