Results 3,281-3,300 of 3,797 for speaker:Ciarán Cannon

Higher Education Grants (7 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn and I thank the Deputy for raising it. The Deputy refers to a change to the student grant schemes announced in budget 2011 by the previous Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government, which removed the automatic eligibility for mature students to the non-adjacent rate of grant effective from September 2011. I...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (6 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: The changes to school transport services relating to the Closed School Rule were announced in the 2011 Budget by the previous Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government and derive from recommendations in the Value for Money Review of the scheme. One of the changes, which will be implemented from September 2011, involves the uniform application of the distance eligibility criterion to all pupils...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (6 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: Under the terms of my Department's School Transport scheme, children with special educational needs are eligible for free school transport if they are attending the nearest recognised: mainstream school, special class / special school or a unit, that is or can be resourced, to meet their special educational needs under Department of Education and Skills criteria. The child, referred to by the...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (6 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: I take it that the Deputy is referring to the changes to the Primary School Transport Scheme announced in the 2011 Budget by the previous Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government which derive from recommendations in the Value for Money Review of the scheme. Under the terms of my Department's Primary School Transport Scheme, children are eligible for school transport if they reside 3.2 kilometres...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (6 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: Changes to school transport services relating to the Closed School Rule were announced in the 2011 Budget by the previous Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government and derive from recommendations in the Value for Money Review of the scheme. I wish to inform the Deputy that school transport arrangements under the Closed School Rule originated from the last major amalgamation of schools in the late...

Written Answers — Vocational Education Committees: Vocational Education Committees (6 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: As part of the Government's Jobs Initiative, an additional 1,000 Further Education Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) and 3,000 Back to Education Initiative (BTEI) places were announced, to be prioritised for the unemployed. These additional places will be available from September. The PLC and BTEI programmes are open to all adults over 16 years of age. The breakdown of these allocations is in...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (6 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: The post of Arts Education Officer is comprehended by the public sector staffing moratorium and there are no plans to expand the programme. The Arts Education Programme is available in a number of VECs and funds educational initiatives for adults, particularly those participating in Further Education, to encourage and develop an appreciation of the arts.

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (5 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: Changes to school transport services, including the cessation of the Closed School Rule, were announced in the 2011 budget by the previous Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government and derive from recommendations in the Value for Money Review of the scheme. Under the four year recovery plan, there is a requirement to deliver savings of €17 million on the school transport budget and these...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (5 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that this meeting has taken place.

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (5 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: Changes to school transport services relating to the Closed School Rule were announced in the 2011 budget by the previous Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government and derive from recommendations in the Value for Money Review of the scheme. I wish to inform the Deputy that school transport arrangements under the Closed School Rule originated from the last major amalgamation of schools in the late...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (5 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 233 and 234 together. Changes to school transport services relating to the Closed School Rule were announced in the 2011 Budget by the previous Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government and derive from recommendations in the Value for Money Review of the scheme. It is important to stress that there are a number of dimensions to the cessation of the Closed School...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (5 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: Changes to school transport services relating to the Closed School Rule were announced in the 2011 Budget by the previous Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government and derive from recommendations in the Value for Money Review of the scheme. I wish to inform the Deputy that school transport arrangements under the Closed School Rule originated from the last major amalgamation of schools in the late...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (5 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: My Department is co-operating fully in the development of practical initiatives, led by the Department of Transport, to promote coordination of State supported transport services such as school transport, rural transport and the Health Service Executive transport services. Bus Éireann which operates the school transport scheme on behalf of this Department is involved in this process. My...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (5 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 253 and 254 together. The changes relating to the Primary School Transport Scheme derive from decisions of the previous Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government to implement recommendations in the School Transport Value for Money review and the need to obtain savings under the four year national recovery plan. The decisions announced cover the uniform application...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (5 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: Bus Éireann which operates the school transport schemes, on behalf of my Department, has provided the following figures in relation to your query:- In the 2008/09 school year 1,719 primary and 1,863 post primary pupils availed of school transport services in County Offaly. In 2009/10 the figures were 1,679 primary and 1,658 post primary and in 2010/11 the numbers were 1,566 primary and...

Seanad: Ambulance Service (5 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly. I thank the Senator for raising the matter. The Minister announced yesterday that an inquiry is to be set up into the events relating to the case of a 14 year old girl from Leitrim who lost an opportunity for a liver transplant due a failure in patient transportation facilities. The...

Seanad: Ambulance Service (5 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: I understand it will be made available as quickly as possible to ensure the services which were required in this instance will be available in the future.

Seanad: Irish Sign Language (5 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. I thank the Senator for raising this issue as it gives me an opportunity to clarify the position on Irish sign language, ISL. First, I wish to clarify for the Senator that section 2 of the Official Languages Act 2003 states that "the official languages" of the State are...

Seanad: Irish Sign Language (5 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: I will undertake to make the Senator's feelings known to the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. If he is not available to have such a meeting with the Irish Deaf Society I will undertake to do so myself and take on board its views.

Seanad: Schools Building Projects (5 Jul 2011)

Ciarán Cannon: I am replying on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. I thank the Senator for raising the matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the House the Government's strategy for capital investment in schools building projects and the position regarding Kealkill national school in Bantry, County Cork. The current staffing level at...