Results 5,121-5,140 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Topical Issue Debate: Road Traffic Offences (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: I agree with Deputy Broughan that this is a cultural issue. All the changes in the world to road traffic law will not be enough to stop every tragic death. Even one road death is one too many. Thankfully, there has been considerable improvement in road safety and the numbers killed in the past ten or 15 years. This has been due to successive Governments. This is a cross-party issue...

Topical Issue Debate: Road Traffic Offences (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: Most incidents on the road are avoidable, so they are not accidents. It is a cultural issue that goes way beyond transport, law or the Department of Justice and Equality. It stretches into education and awareness of the problem. Most people try the lottery every now and again because they believe they can win. They see the ads that say, "It could be you." They roll the dice and try, but...

Topical Issue Debate: Road Traffic Offences (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: Where do I start? About 20 topical issues were raised there. I understand that most of them are very topical and we will certainly get the Deputy answers to them. I will not be able to give him the answers as most of them are above my pay grade. I will get the Deputy the answers he requires to some of the questions he has.

Topical Issue Debate: Road Traffic Offences (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: I am here to respond to the issue the Deputy raised which was the urgent need for the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to bring forward consolidated road traffic legislation before the end of the Government's term given the recent revelations. That is the issue the Deputy raised and that is the issue I am responding to. I apologise on behalf of the Minister who could not make it...

Topical Issue Debate: Car Theft (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: I am replying to this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, who could not be present and conveys his apologies. I welcome the Deputy's intentions in raising this important issue. While the offence of taking a vehicle without the lawful authority of the owner is provided for in section 112 of the Road Traffic Act 1961,...

Topical Issue Debate: Car Theft (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: As I stated, I have no problem conveying the Deputy's proposal to both the relevant Departments. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport would have liked to have been in the House to respond on this issue. This matter is not one for national governments as we are subject to clear European regulations in respect of type approval requirements for vehicles. I stress, therefore, that any...

Topical Issue Debate: Schools Building Projects Status (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter because it gives me the opportunity to remind the House of the significant challenges facing the Department in terms of meeting increasing demand for pupil places throughout the country in the coming years. It also presents me with the opportunity to clarify the position regarding the provision of school places in Monasterevin, County Kildare. ...

Topical Issue Debate: Schools Building Projects Status (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: As the Deputy knows, the money for the second level school is ring fenced. That project is included in the current five year plan so there is no reason why it cannot progress to construction next year. The proposed amalgamated school is progressing through all of the stages and that project is in a strong position for inclusion in the forthcoming six-year plan to be announced in the coming...

Topical Issue Debate: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: I want to make it clear that I was not trying to change the Deputy's view. I completely understand and empathise with the circumstances of the case she has raised. We try to encourage people to do voluntary work when they have time to do so, as many people have had in recent years. The difficulty is that there is no discretion with the residency requirement. The Student Support Act 2011...

Topical Issue Debate: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: That is a debate we can continue to have. While I acknowledge the case the Deputy is making, I do not think she can say there is no reason for the current approach. I think she will accept that all our schemes need to have criteria. She mentioned the changes that were made to facilitate asylum seekers. The condition that applies to them is that they must have been resident in the State...

Topical Issue Debate: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: There has been a change.

Topical Issue Debate: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: It is a new pilot scheme. I think most people welcome the new rule. To be clear, they have to be resident for a full five years whereas an Irish or EU citizen has to be resident for just three of the preceding five years.

Topical Issue Debate: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The student grant scheme will benefit some 80,000 students in the 2015-2016 academic year at a cost of approximately €350 million. In order to qualify for supports under the scheme, students have to meet a number of eligibility requirements, which are outlined in the Student Grant Scheme 2015. One of these requirements is the residency...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Availability (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: The purpose of the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children with special educational needs arising from a diagnosed disability. Bus Éireann, which operates the scheme on behalf of my Department, is responsible for the planning and timetabling of school transport...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kms from and are attending their nearest education centre as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language. Bus Éireann has established that the older sibling of the child referred to by the Deputy was in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kms from and are attending their nearest education centre as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language. Bus Éireann has advised that under the terms of the Scheme children residing in the Johnstown Bridge...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: The purpose of the School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school. Under the terms of the Scheme, children are eligible for school transport where they are attending their nearest school and meet the requisite distance. School transport services, routes, pick-up points,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Scheme Data (22 Oct 2015)

Damien English: Bus Éireann has advised that the total number of children availing of school transport for the years in question are as follows: 2015/16 - 112,181; 2014/15 - 112,577; 2013/14 - 114,063. The figures for 2015/2016 were taken on 13 October and will increase as tickets are still being issued. The figures for the other two school years were taken on 31 December.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Disabled Drivers Grant Eligibility (21 Oct 2015)

Damien English: I thank Senator Colm Burke for raising this matter. I am speaking on behalf of the Minister for Finance who regrets he is unable to be present due to other business. He apologises and would have preferred to have been present himself, had that been possible. The Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal is a body under the aegis of the Department of Finance and it is for that reason I am...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Disabled Drivers Grant Eligibility (21 Oct 2015)

Damien English: I again thank the Senator. While I do not have to hand the exact details of the case, as the Department has stated, it keeps all these issues under review on a regular basis and I certainly will feed in the example raised by the Senator regarding the situation faced by that family. On the point raised by the Senator, I note they do not seek access to the whole lot but this probably deals...