Results 3,101-3,120 of 4,869 for speaker:Seán Haughey

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (26 May 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...

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

Seán Haughey: As the Deputy is aware, the school transport service is a complex national operation supporting in the region of 125,000 pupils daily. The cost of the school transport service has in fact increased by about 45% in the past five years from €122.2m (which included over €3m towards purchase of buses) in 2005 to €177.4m in 2009. This increase is due to a number of factors namely: - The...

Written Answers — School Placement: School Placement (20 May 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 Act provides a comprehensive framework promoting regular school attendance and tackling the problems of absenteeism and early school leaving. The remit of the...

Diversification of Primary School Provision: Statements (20 May 2010)

Seán Haughey: I propose to share time with Deputy Conlon.

Diversification of Primary School Provision: Statements (20 May 2010)

Seán Haughey: I welcome this timely debate and am encouraged by Members' constructive contributions. Most Deputies requested that ideology be left out of the debate and, fortunately, that has been the case thus far. There was a concern that the debate might be used as an occasion to beat up the Catholic Church. The Ryan report was published a year ago and since then we have had the Murphy report....

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (19 May 2010)

Seán Haughey: I propose to take Questions Nos. 230 and 231 together. Bus Éireann which operates the school transport scheme has informed my Department that a wide range of vehicle types are used to provide services under the Department of Education School Transport Scheme to meet the particular needs of the eligible children being carried. These include wheelchair accessible minibuses, standard minibuses,...

Seanad: School Patronage (19 May 2010)

Seán Haughey: I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Coughlan. I thank the Senator for raising this matter, as it affords me the opportunity to outline to the Seanad the current issues surrounding recognition and patronage in general. The Senator will be aware that section 10 of the Education Act 1998 deals with the...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects (19 May 2010)

Seán Haughey: I had a little lapse for a few weeks.

Seanad: Schools Building Projects (19 May 2010)

Seán Haughey: I am also taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Coughlan. I thank Senator Healy Eames for raising this matter as it gives me an opportunity of outlining to the House the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects, in particular the Department's position regarding the upgrading of facilities in...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects (19 May 2010)

Seán Haughey: Cregmore national school has a current staffing level of a principal and eight mainstream teachers. The school also has the services of two learning support-resource teachers. For the 2009-10 school year, the school has an enrolment of 220 pupils. In 1999 Cregmore national school applied to the Department for extension and refurbishment works at the school. In 2004, the school management...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects (19 May 2010)

Seán Haughey: The Department would be reluctant to give out figures on the emergency works scheme owing to tendering issues. There is not a policy of giving out the figures involved. I assume the school will make an application under the emergency works scheme.

Seanad: Schools Building Projects (19 May 2010)

Seán Haughey: That application was only received yesterday and is being assessed. I will mention to the Tánaiste the concerns Senator Healy Eames raised. The school has been advised as well that it could make an application under the emergency works scheme and we will see how that evolves.

Seanad: Health Services (19 May 2010)

Seán Haughey: I am taking the Adjournment on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney. At the outset, I reaffirm the Government's commitment to developing primary care services at local level. In line with the Government's policy document, Primary Care, A New Direction,the Health Service Executive is refocusing its services to give people direct access in the...

Seanad: Health Services (19 May 2010)

Seán Haughey: I will convey the Senator's view to the Minister for Health and Children.

Euro Area Loan Facility Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (19 May 2010)

Seán Haughey: We are donating it to Greece on this occasion.

Written Answers — Adult Education: Adult Education (12 May 2010)

Seán Haughey: The information requested by the Deputy in relation to enrolments in Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) and population, broken down by county, is included by way of a table below. Approval of PLC places involves incurring expenditure on teacher salaries, non-pay funding and means tested student support grants. Teachers are appointed to deliver PLC courses on the basis of a pupil teacher ratio of...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (12 May 2010)

Seán Haughey: Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme, a pupil is eligible for transport if s/he resides 4.8 kilometres or more from her/his local post primary education centre. The scheme is not designed to facilitate parents who choose to send their children to a post-primary centre outside of the catchment area in which they reside. However, children who are fully...

Written Answers — Educational Disadvantage: Educational Disadvantage (11 May 2010)

Seán Haughey: I propose to take Questions Nos. 375 to 379, inclusive, together. DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), the action plan for educational inclusion was launched by the Minister for Education and Science in 2005. The DEIS action plan has replaced the range of pre-existing programmes in place in my Department to combat educational disadvantage in schools with concentrated levels...

Written Answers — Disadvantaged Status: Disadvantaged Status (6 May 2010)

Seán Haughey: The majority of schools include among their pupils, children with disadvantaged backgrounds. In general most schools address the individual needs of these children without recourse to additional targeted resources. Evidence has shown that disadvantage associated with poverty and social exclusion assumes a multiplier effect where the levels are highly concentrated in schools. DEIS...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (6 May 2010)

Seán Haughey: One of the main objectives of the school transport scheme is to provide a basic level of service for children who live long distances from school and who might otherwise experience difficulty in attending regularly. The school transport scheme, which is operated by Bus Éireann on my Department's behalf, facilitates the transportation of over 125,000 children to primary and post-primary...