Results 21-40 of 502 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Joe O'Brien

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: We are using a couple of mechanisms to try to push that and expand that approach across government. In his question, the Deputy proposes the convening of a working group. In many respects that working groups already exists. We have a cross-sectoral group tasked with implementing the five-year strategy. It includes officials from quite a few Departments, including the Departments of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: There are a few strands to Deputy Ó Murchú's question.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: In terms of other Departments, particularly in the case of the section 39 organisations the Deputy mentioned, this comes down to service level agreements. I point to a document that was agreed by the Government in the year before last. It is the shared values and principles document. It encourages Departments to engage more with community and voluntary organisations that we are dependent...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: The Government's five-year strategy to support the community and voluntary sector, Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities, was published in 2019. This is a whole-of-government strategy led by my Department and it is implemented collaboratively with the sector through the cross-sectoral group on local and community development. This strategy reaffirms the Government's commitment to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Community Development Projects (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Since the Deputy specifically raised the community recognition fund, I will try to address the particular point he made. This was a €50 million announcement from last year. Each local authority was given an allocation based specifically on the number of new arrivals they had. After that a process ensued in each local authority area whereby the local authority was obliged to engage...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Community Development Projects (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: We have to trust in the local authorities' decision-making processes as well to some extent, but at the same time we look at how they were done and we can learn from this round for future plans. I would point to a couple of things that we have been doing and that are particularly dedicated and pointed at particularly disadvantaged communities, namely the empowering communities programme that...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Community Development Projects (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for the question. The new iteration of the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, 2024-2028 has a renewed focus on building capacity in community representative structures, establishing new community groups and social enterprises, and empowering communities to lead out on identifying their own needs, through a new dedicated core area of work called...

Report of Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands: Motion (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the committee for its leadership on this. I agree with Deputy O'Rourke's point that other committees need to follow suit. It is not really an option for them; they need to do it. It is part of their job. I therefore appeal to all the other committees to do a similar analysis and a similar report and have a debate similar to that which we are having today. Again, I acknowledge the...

Report of Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands: Motion (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. I thank the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands for its report on the progress being made on the SDGs. Achievement of the SDGs is essential if we are to ensure a sustainable future for all. They address the global and local challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change,...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Ceann Comhairle. Before I address the specific issues raised by the Deputy, I will provide an outline of the extent of the school transport system. The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, more than 161,600 children, including over 135,000 pupils, travelling on...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I hope the situation for those young people in Pallaskenry will be resolved soon. It is clear the Department is engaging with them. I agree on the need for an integrated system and with the point the Deputy made about school buses doing their drop and then doing a return journey without passengers. That is certainly not efficient, in a variety of ways. Other Departments are also...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Schools Building Projects (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity, on behalf of the Department of Education, to outline to the Dáil the current position in relation to the large-scale capital building projects for Holy Family Community School, Rathcoole, and the Clondalkin schools campus. The projects are included in the Department's construction programme which will be...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Schools Building Projects (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Under Project Ireland 2040, the Department of Education is investing well in excess of €5 billion over the period 2021-25 to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities across the country for the almost 1 million students and over 100,000 staff who learn and work in our schools every day. The Department of Education has a strong track record of delivery of school building...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Schools Building Projects (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I am happy to do that. I have only updates on two schools in my information here.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Post Office Network (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I welcome the opportunity to outline the position on this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and Minister of State, Deputy Chambers. An Post is a commercial State company with a mandate to act commercially and, as such, day-to-day operational matters, including decisions in relation to the size, distribution and future of the network, are matters for the board and...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Post Office Network (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I appreciate the Deputy's passionate advocacy for the retention of the situation with the post office in Roscommon town. I reiterate that An Post has outlined that its change in business model of the six offices I have mentioned, including Roscommon, will not in any way change the range or extent of the services offered by An Post in those selected locations. The company remains committed...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Dental Services (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to address the issue of participation of dentists in the dental treatment services scheme in County Galway. The dental treatment services scheme, DTSS, provides dental care free of charge to medical card holders aged 16 and over. Services available annually and on demand include an examination, including preventative advice, two fillings, emergency...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Dental Services (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: The Minister has made substantial additional investments in oral healthcare services in recent years, but I take the Deputy's point about the lived reality he outlined, especially regarding people with intellectual disabilities trying to negotiate complex administrative systems which are not always very user friendly. I will certainly take that point back to the Minister. I will also ask...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Development Projects (30 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for his question. My Department’s mission is to promote rural and community development and support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland. The underlying basis for all funding delivered through my Department's community development programmes is to enable communities to identify and address their own needs in this context. In effect,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Development Projects (30 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Decisions on particular allocations for the community animation aspect of SICAP are rolled out to the local development companies. Based on the need presenting to them, they will decide what level of worker should be involved. It is the individual community worker who is engaged under SICAP. The programme is responsive in that sense. There is no set, defined allocation by central...