Results 3,221-3,240 of 6,188 for speaker:Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Review of the Reopening of Schools (Resumed) (2 Sep 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I appreciate all that and those issues have been well flagged. I have some questions for the National Parents Council. Parents are not totally clear as to when they should keep their children home. They also have concern over income support. If they do the right thing by keeping their children out when they display symptoms or if there is a positive case in the school, they are worried...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Review of the Reopening of Schools (Resumed) (2 Sep 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I, along with my colleague, Deputy Conway-Walsh, who will flesh this out, want to flag with the Minister the issue of calculated grades. I do not need a response now and I may raise the issue with her on another occasion. Students who sat the leaving certificate in 2019 are concerned about the implications for their college places. I believe solutions can be found and I will write to the...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Review of the Reopening of Schools (Resumed) (2 Sep 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I apologise. I do not mean to be disruptive but I have limitations on my time.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Review of the Reopening of Schools (Resumed) (2 Sep 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: They are very simple questions, so if the Minister could please-----

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Review of the Reopening of Schools (Resumed) (2 Sep 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I understand.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Review of the Reopening of Schools (Resumed) (2 Sep 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: That is welcome but it is not consistent with some of the previous statements that have been made. The Minister is confirming there will be priority testing. That is vitally important and I hope we will see that happen for students and staff where it is required, within 24 to 48 hours and as soon as possible. I will speak about high-risk staff as well but I wish to raise with the...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Review of the Reopening of Schools (Resumed) (2 Sep 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I am not looking for a blanket approach. I am not looking for a one-page email or a one-page statement. I am looking for some kind of guidance, that is, some kind of documentation or a process but there is nothing for these people. Even the stuff the Minister said about GPs has not been provided. The school has no basis on which to say that it should accept the letter of a GP. The school...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Review of the Reopening of Schools (Resumed) (2 Sep 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I appreciate that there is a lot of guidance on various situations but there is nothing about this category. I will leave it at that and ask the Minister to consider the issue because it really does need to be considered. There is no reference anywhere to this category of family. My final question relates to school transport. It is chaotic. It is a bit of an issue every year, as I am...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Review of the Reopening of Schools (Resumed) (2 Sep 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Will the Minister seek ways to try to bring them into the system in order that this can happen safely and sustainably?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I thank Professor Nolan and Dr. Glynn for their efforts to date in fighting this pandemic, which have been extraordinary. I know the people of this country are grateful as well. I have six minutes and that is to include answers so, as much as I appreciate public health and epidemiology are complex and do not lend themselves to brief answers, I would appreciate it if the witnesses could be...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I have been contacted by many school staff and parents regarding the difference between those at high risk and those at very high risk. Many school staff in particular have been concerned. They have been certified by Medmark as fit to return to work as they are only high risk. They are upset and worried by this and they feel compromised. They are also unhappy at the relative lack of...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: That is a useful insight because, from speaking with school staff, children and their families, this issue requires a more tailored approach. Dr. Glynn may have seen the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Foley, last night on "Prime Time". She outlined what would happen in an instance of a symptomatic child or staff member in a school. Many of the answers pivoted on the GP being...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I thank Dr. Glynn.

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Through no fault of the Minister's I probably did not leave enough time for her to reply. She is eating into my colleague's time so perhaps she could respond to me in writing. I will let my colleague put his questions.

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: We had a good debate on Tuesday evening during which we addressed some of the issues that related to the return to school and I will not go into some of them on this occasion. It was a good debate on an important issue related to the funding of education, the pupil-teacher ratio and overcrowded classrooms. I appreciate that Deputies felt the need to protest tonight over speaking time...

Future of School Education: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (30 Jul 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Record it. It is as simple as that, a Cheann Comhairle.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Further Education and Training Programmes (30 Jul 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I hope the Minister of State will not take this in an adversarial way but this is an issue that needs to be resolved. A small number of institutions offer post-primary and further or higher education. 12 o’clock They seem to be located in the south east in particular. There is some confusion as to the fact there are guidelines relating to higher and further education, there is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Transport (30 Jul 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 4. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the school transport scheme will need to be expanded in view of Covid-19 and social distancing; and the steps that will be taken to ensure that no child that participated in the school transport scheme in 2019-2020 will be denied a seat in 2020-2021. [19312/20]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Transport (30 Jul 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Among several welcome elements in the roadmap, which includes things that we had called for over time, some have raised huge questions and require significant clarification. One of the biggest is school transport. Some 120,000 children are carried every year by school transport programmes. Among any of the operators I have spoken to there is very little clarity and they have had very...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Transport (30 Jul 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I heard Dermot O'Leary of the National Bus and Rail Union, NBRU, on the radio some days ago, shortly before the plan was published. He was speaking about whether he thought any additional capacity could be found and he expressed some scepticism. He is a stakeholder and I would hope that any engagement would have included unions such as the NBRU. He, like most of us, would have anticipated...