Results 5,021-5,040 of 5,762 for speaker:Fiona O'Loughlin

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Aftercare Services (8 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: 314. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to engage with organisations (details supplied) to ensure after care support for those leaving State care on their 18th birthday; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12336/17]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I ask everyone to switch off their mobile phones as they interfere with the sound and the recording of the meeting. On the EU legislative proposals discussed in private session, COM (2016) 382, COM (2016) 625, COM (2016) 708 and COM (2016) 742 it is proposed that none of these four proposals warrants any further scrutiny. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: At today's meeting, the joint committee will begin the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and the general scheme of the Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016. This is the first of two days on which witnesses will appear before the joint committee. On behalf of the committee, I welcome all of the witnesses to the meeting. From the Department of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I thank the witnesses for their brevity. They got their points across well too. I ask Dr. Niall Muldoon, the Ombudsman for Children, to give his opening statement.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I thank Dr. Muldoon for his submissions on the two Bills in addition to his own statement. Next I call on Mr. Mark Bohan from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: Thank you for that. We move now to the Ombudsman, Mr. Peter Tyndall.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I thank Mr. Tyndall. I invite Ms Dempsey to contribute. I understand that, although there are two chairpersons, Ms Dempsey will make the opening statement.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I thank Ms Dempsey. The next witness is Ms Maria Doyle of the Irish Primary Principals' Network, IPPN. I was at the recent IPPN conference. I commend them on a very informative and inspirational conference.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I thank everybody for their insights and observations on the Bills before us. It is not often we have statutory and non-statutory organisations before the committee at the same time but it has been very helpful. There is a common thread in all of this. We all want the best possible scenario for our students in the education system, and we want to ensure there is a place for parents in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I thank Deputy Daly. We are inviting a representative of secondary school students in for the next day that we have witness hearings. I apologise for Deputy Thomas Byrne, who had to leave for another meeting at 5 p.m. I am going to take other questions and comments from members before we go back to the witnesses. With a Government Bill, it is traditional for a member of the main...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: The Deputy will have the opportunity to come back again after the witnesses.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: If any other members want to put something to the witnesses, they can respond to all the questions. If not, then we will go straight back to the witnesses. I call Senator Ó Clochartaigh.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: Before going back to the witnesses, I also want to commend Deputy Jim Daly and pay tribute to his resilience in ensuring that we got to debate this measure no matter what. I acknowledge that it is a historic day and it is appropriate that he put it on the record. No matter what the outcome is, if he had not worked on his own Private Members' Bill we would not be discussing the charter today...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: Mr. Cottrell is right about that. Principal teachers, and particularly teaching principals, are crippled with the bureaucracy they have to deal with. I will return to the members who have indicated.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: Before we go back there were some specific questions for the Department.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I thank Deputy Daly. He makes the point very well that the role of an ombudsman is also advocacy as well as dealing with all the complaints that come to its office. The role is to identify where there are problems and advocating for the change. I call Mr. Hanevy, who will have the last word.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: I thank Mr. Hanvey. I wish to endorse Deputy Martin's suggestion about having the possibility, particularly in a secondary school, of having a student member on a board of management.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: Deputy Martin is ahead of herself, not for the first time in terms of good ideas. I would certainly welcome that initiative. I now volunteer with Special Olympics and I worked with them. In the Special Olympics, every board and at every level of the organisation, be it at a local club level, regional, country or global level it is the policy that an athlete is a member of the board and...

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Wildlife Protection (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: 44. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department measured the impacts of allowing hedge cutting in August and the impact it may have on wildlife; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11365/17]

Written Answers — Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Cultural Policy (7 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: 67. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her plans to make departmental funding available for multicultural integration events to communities such as Kildare town which have a large multicultural society; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11366/17]