Results 4,121-4,140 of 8,015 for speaker:Jonathan O'Brien

Building on Recovery: Statements (7 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: I wish to share time with Deputy Ó Caoláin. I will touch on the education aspect, as that is my own portfolio. I will acknowledge that there is significant funding going in between now and 2021 of €3.8 billion. Unfortunately, that will only be able to match the growth in demographics. We will cater for the peak in students which are coming on line. At primary school,...

Other Questions: School Patronage (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: The Government could change the Constitution.

Other Questions: School Patronage (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: We are doing it for teachers but not for students.

Other Questions: School Patronage (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: The patronage divestment programme is important and we must focus on it continually. It is fundamentally wrong that schools that are oversubscribed and that have a particular religious ethos may discriminate against children who do not share the ethos. I have met parents whose children are unable to attend their local schools because they have not been baptised and will not make their...

Other Questions: State Examinations Reviews (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: I hope the Minister is correct in her assessment that the clarification will be enough to secure the support of the ASTI. There is a time issue here because we are coming to the end of this Government's term. Whether it is next month or in April, we have a finite amount of time to resolve this. We need to resolve it before we head into a general election because so much work has been...

Other Questions: Bullying in Schools (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: I fully endorse what Deputy Durkan has said in respect of mandatory reporting. That is an important element that needs to be implemented in order that we can get a more accurate picture of the types of bullying and the age groups, cohorts and different incidents. When the Minister published the guidelines, one of the recommendations was to review those guidelines after two years to see if...

Other Questions: State Examinations Reviews (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: 131. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the implementation of junior cycle reforms. [33940/15]

Other Questions: State Examinations Reviews (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: I am happy to wait for the Minister's response.

Other Questions: State Examinations Reviews (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: We are going back over a previous question by Deputy McConalogue. The issue, as Deputy McConalogue outlined, was that we got off to a bad start. The way the previous Minister went about trying to railroad junior cycle reform was counter-productive. It got people's backs up and there was a loss of trust with the Department. That was unfortunate because nearly all political parties in this...

Other Questions: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: The information I have concerns schools within the city boundaries. There are only four places available for children with autism. This does not involve the allocation of resource hours, because I recognise that the Department will provide them where they are needed. As the Minister knows, for students with autism, the availability of a timeout, home room or base room - whatever way it is...

Other Questions: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: 127. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware that parents in County Cork are finding it difficult to access mainstream secondary school places for their children with autism, in view of the unavailability of resources at a school (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will set out her plans to rectify the lack of mainstream places for children with autism as a...

Other Questions: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: Is the Minister aware of the issues relating to access to mainstream education for pupils with autism in Cork city - as opposed to County Cork, as stated in the question?

Other Questions: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: I thank the Minister for not naming the school, although I gave her the information - that would be unfair. I have raised the matter because I was talking to the parents of a young child who will go to secondary school next year. The primary school he attends offers excellent services, but the secondary school they hope to enrol him in has, unfortunately, told them that it will not be able...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: That is an exercise we should undertake. All the evidence-based research suggests that smaller class size equates to greater educational output. As a State with one of the highest pupil-teacher ratios in Europe, we must move to a policy of reducing class size. The additional places the Minister refers to over the next six years will only meet the demographic rise. I am trying to show that...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: 122. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the cost of reducing the primary school pupil-teacher ratio by one point for each of the next five years, accounting for rising demographics; and the cost of additional school and classroom building to cater for reduced class sizes during each of these years. [34191/15]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: The Minister indicated that the cost of reducing the pupil-teacher ratio by one point would be €18 million for this year. Based on demographic changes, I expect that the cost of reducing the pupil-teacher ratio by one point every year for the next five years will exceed the €90 million estimate provided by the Minister. The rise in student numbers will result in increased...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Management (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: 144. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to hold an inquiry into the schools using resource hours for administrative duties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33937/15]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Discipline (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: 160. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department has ever sought legal advice on the operation of prone restraint and seclusion rooms in schools; if she will provide the details of this advice; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33941/15]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Data (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: 161. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children requiring resource hours of any kind during each year since 2009; and if she will provide an update on the National Council for Special Education reformed allocation system. [33938/15]

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Ministerial Travel (6 Oct 2015)

Jonathan O'Brien: 172. To ask the Taoiseach if the Cabinet handbook protocol requires Ministers to consult him in advance of international visits as to whether a spouse may accompany them; if a Minister of State (details supplied) did so for recent travel to Brussels in Belgium; the response received to the request; the number of such requests made during each year since 2011; and the number of those requests...