Results 5,401-5,420 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects Status (26 May 2015)

Damien English: I thank Senator Lorraine Higgins for raising this issue which gives me the opportunity to clarify the situation and to report progress. The five-year construction plan announced in March 2012 outlines the major school projects which will commence construction over the duration of the plan. A project in respect of Gaelscoil Iarfhlatha has been included in the plan and is scheduled to proceed...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects Status (26 May 2015)

Damien English: I wish to clarify that the Department's officials recognise the urgency of the situation and they are doing all in their power to resolve it. The issues which arose are outside the control of the Department and are not within the gift of the Department to resolve. It is endeavouring to resolve them. They arose at a late stage of the conveyancing process. It is a legal matter which will...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Eligibility (26 May 2015)

Damien English: Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for school transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest education centre as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language. As the child referred to by the Deputy will not be attending his nearest post primary school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (26 May 2015)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 851 and 852 together. Bus Éireann has advised that in the current school year some 49,700 primary children and almost 63,900 post primary children are being transported under the terms of the school transport scheme, including almost 9,800 children with special educational needs. These figures include children who are eligible for school transport and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Post-Leaving Certificate Courses (26 May 2015)

Damien English: SOLAS has commissioned the evaluation work for the review of the PLC sector and has established an evaluation oversight group. It expects to make the findings of the evaluation available early in 2016.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Eligibility (26 May 2015)

Damien English: My Department is liaising with the National Council for Special Education in relation to the school transport application for the child in question, following which direct contact will be made with the child's parent.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (26 May 2015)

Damien English: Education and Training Boards (ETBs) receive funding from my Department, through SOLAS, to deliver English language tuition to speakers of other languages. In 2014, in the region of 11,000 participants availed of English language tuition in ETBs. On 20th May 2015, the Government approved the implementation of a series of reforms to the student immigration system for international...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: SOLAS Funding (19 May 2015)

Damien English: The payment of an additional training allowance of €31.80 per week for the long term unemployed was introduced during a period of high employment levels as an incentive for the long term unemployed to participate in former-FÁS training courses and VTOS courses. The payment of this allowance was later extended to those persons in receipt of social welfare disability payments to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (19 May 2015)

Damien English: The estimated cost of reversing the reductions in capitation grants over the last four years to VTOS, Youthreach, Back to Education Initiative, Post Leaving Certificate and Adult Literacy programmes is €2 million.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards Funding (19 May 2015)

Damien English: The Government decisions underpinning the reform of the ETB/SOLAS sector envisage a key role for the ETBs in relation to the future delivery of further education and training in an integrated manner under the reforms that will be driven by SOLAS. The Education and Training Boards Act 2013 recognises this in providing that the general functions of an ETB include to "plan, provide, coordinate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Appeals (19 May 2015)

Damien English: The Deputy will be aware from my previous reply that the School Transport Appeals Board is independent of my Department. The Appeals Board will inform the families in question directly of their determination on the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Administration (19 May 2015)

Damien English: The school transport scheme, which is in existence since 1967, is operated by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. The scheme continues to be operated on the basis of a 1975 Summary of Accounting Arrangements between the Department and Bus Éireann.

Topical Issue Debate: Refugee Numbers (14 May 2015)

Damien English: I thank the Deputies for raising today Ireland's decision to resettle refugees as part of the EU resettlement programme. I am speaking on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, who regrets she is unable to be present for the debate due to previous official commitments. I will, of course, bring the views of the Deputies to her attention and that of the other relevant Ministers...

Topical Issue Debate: Refugee Numbers (14 May 2015)

Damien English: I thank the Deputies for raising the resettlement programme and many other issues, including that of Shannon Airport. The Deputies have debated Shannon here on numerous occasions with various Ministers, most recently with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charlie Flanagan. I will ask these Ministers to review today's discussion to feed into the debate. The Deputies are...

Other Questions: Job Creation (13 May 2015)

Damien English: The key is to have that link-up. As a Minister of State for seven or eight months, I have spent a great deal of time working with universities, institutes of technology and other research centres to ensure that there is a link-up. I have a leg in the Departments of Education and Skills and Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. I am trying to drive that link-up and agenda. That is working, and...

Other Questions: Research and Development Funding (13 May 2015)

Damien English: I missed the discussion on the Deputy's previous question about the survey. For the purposes of the survey of research and development in the higher education sector 2012-13, which is conducted by my Department and previously by Forfás, basic research includes pure and oriented basic research. The figure of 50.9% of the HERD budget spent on basic research in the 2012-13 period included...

Other Questions: Research and Development Funding (13 May 2015)

Damien English: It was probably the accent.

Other Questions: Research and Development Funding (13 May 2015)

Damien English: I am sorry. I was probably speaking quickly. I am in a rush to get to a function, so I apologise. I will provide the written response. I will clarify points on the new strategy. It is not being rushed. The strategy is not finished yet. The initial call for submissions was meant to focus people's minds. The strategy was being discussed long before I took up office eight months ago....

Other Questions: Research and Development Funding (13 May 2015)

Damien English: I am sorry, but I am nearly finished. There is a high level of spending on basic research. It is important that we do this. The strategy will reflect this. We will have ample time. I do not accept that the strategy is being rushed. It is not finished and there are months to go yet.

Other Questions: Research and Development Funding (13 May 2015)

Damien English: It is not a case of no one listening. We are fully engaged. I have offered to meet many groups before the strategy concludes to discuss it. We want to get it right. We have achieved a great deal with our agenda in the past three or four years. Under successive Governments during the past ten or 15 years, Ireland has built an important and world-recognised research ecosystem. We will...