Results 361-380 of 9,898 for speaker:Jack Chambers

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: This work is ongoing. The Minister, Deputy Lawless, will publish the report on the cost of education and this will inform the budgetary discussion that will take place.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: I thank Deputy Mac Lochlainn. I know the Minister met various stakeholders in Donegal in May, including representatives from the action group and many representatives on the council. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Browne, to set out the specific timeline relating to legislation and give Deputy Mac Lochlainn a specific answer to his question.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: I thank Deputy Carthy and I appreciate and agree on how essential an SNA is to any individual with additional needs in the classroom. I am not sure whether the school Deputy Carthy has referenced has appealed the particular allocation this year to the NCSE.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: I will ask the Minister, Deputy McEntee, as I did with regard to Deputy Paul Murphy earlier, to respond on the specific case Deputy Carthy has referenced. Budget 2025 provided for 1,600 SNAs, the largest number ever allocated, which will bring to 23,000 the number of SNAs in our schools.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: I appreciate that. We are committed to continued investment in special education in terms of staffing and, in many instances, the need for new buildings for special classrooms. I will ask the Minister, Deputy McEntee, to respond to Deputy Carthy on the specific case.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: I will allow the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to set out the specific representations that have been made at official or ministerial level. As the Deputy knows, a new ambassador arrived this week. The Minister met him this week and will be able to comment on his direct discussions with the US administration. The Ireland-US relationship is and continues to be important. I...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: As the Deputy can appreciate, I am not familiar with the specific school he referenced or what has occurred relating to SNAs, apart from stating that the overall number of SNAs will continue to increase nationally, along with the support we are providing for special education through the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, around school buildings, teachers, SNAs and other supports...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: As the Deputy knows, the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, is committed to significantly improving the processing times for international protection applications and bringing the appeals component back to the Department of justice in order to streamline the process. Next year, progress on the EU migration pact will make a difference in terms of the timeframes around processing. I cannot comment...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: I think we all share the objectives of significantly improving transport infrastructure for Galway city. The work that has been undertaken around the feasibility study for light rail is important in that context. The National Transport Authority is considering that with the two relevant councils. There has been significant investment in Ceannt Station, as the Deputy knows, to try to...

Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: The Department of housing, with the Minister for housing’s approval, decided not to proceed to award the contract for social housing bundle 3 through a public-private partnership. The basis for that decision was that the cost per unit was more than €1 million and almost double the cost of similar units delivered in 2020. Unit costs at that scale would not be compatible with...

Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: I acknowledge the urgent local need to advance these particular projects and also the fact that they have full planning permission. The Department of housing is now working with the National Development Finance Agency and all the local authorities to see how we can advance these projects through an alternative delivery strategy. They are also reviewing future public-private partnerships...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: The programme for Government is centrally important and informs all Ministers in how they negotiate in any budget. What is referenced in the programme for Government relating to students and third level will inform the Minister's budgetary negotiation. What happened in previous years when temporary one-off measures were taken was that they were taken in the aftermath of the start of an...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: I am familiar with the serious congestion in Galway city and the broader Galway region. As the Deputy knows, the National Transport Authority, NTA, has been developing the Galway metropolitan area transport strategy to inform what is possible for the future in the context of public transport but also road infrastructure in the Galway region, in conjunction with Galway City Council and Galway...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: I absolutely reject what Deputy Bacik set out there concerning the Minister, Deputy Browne. If we look at the series of actions and reforms he has undertaken in recent weeks, I think a significant difference will be made in driving housing supply, private and public, in our economy. He has reformed and streamlined the approval process for new-build social housing projects this week, making...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: If we look at the series of reforms the Minister has taken, it will make a difference.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: I have referenced a series of actions being taken,-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: -----including the strengthening of the Land Development Agency, continuing to support the increased supply of social and affordable homes-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: -----and the measures the Minister, Deputy Browne, has taken to cut through some of the bureaucracy that exists around the four-stage approval process and reform that. He has taken a series of measures that will increase the supply of social and affordable homes.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: Central to the new national development plan will be an increased allocation that is all focused on housing. Our central and number one focus as a Government is driving the supply of thousands of new homes right across our country, but this requires reforming how systems operate. The Deputy is just asking for additional allocations, but we need to change some of the systems that are...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2025)

Jack Chambers: Well, credit has not been given to the Minister, Deputy Browne, for some of the measures he has taken in recent weeks that will make a difference in the context of social and affordable homes.