Results 5,601-5,620 of 6,728 for speaker:John Curran

Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (4 Feb 2009)

John Curran: The Government has made significant progress in advancing measures in support of objectives on Volunteering and Active Citizenship. The Task Force on Active Citizenship recommended that a network of volunteer centres be funded across the country. My Department now provides annual funding of over €2.5m to twenty such centres. In 2008, these centres registered over 7,500 volunteers and over...

Written Answers — Community Support: Community Support (3 Feb 2009)

John Curran: My Department manages the Scheme of Community Support for Older People, which assists qualifying older people, by means of a community based grant scheme. Funding is provided towards the once-off cost of installing monitored alarm systems, door and window locks, door chains, security lighting, smoke alarms and in the case of qualifying older people living on our offshore islands, interior...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (3 Feb 2009)

John Curran: I propose to take Questions Nos. 300 and 303 together. As the Deputies will be aware, the Dial-to-Stop Drug Dealing Campaign was officially launched on 30 September 2008. I would see the campaign as part of a range of initiatives that are used to apprehend those engaged in drug dealing. The Local and Regional Drugs Task Forces are used to run the campaign which is designed to encourage...

National Drugs Strategy. (29 Jan 2009)

John Curran: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 22 together. A steering group, chaired by my Department, is currently developing proposals on a new national drugs strategy covering the period 2009 to 2016. I expect to receive its proposals and recommendations by the end of March and I will then consider them before seeking Government approval for a new strategy. An extensive consultation...

National Drugs Strategy. (29 Jan 2009)

John Curran: I will first address the alcohol issue as it has provoked a great deal of discussion. The reality is that alcohol and drug use are closely linked. In terms of the services provided by the statutory agencies, the HSE, clinics and so forth and education programmes, many of them already focus on drug and alcohol use. The exact relationship between the two and how it will be defined in the new...

School Services Staff. (29 Jan 2009)

John Curran: I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe. The Minister is aware that the task force on the physical sciences recommended in 2002 the provision of laboratory assistants to schools as part of a strategy to strengthen the implementation of the physical sciences in schools. At the time this was costed at €18.8...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (29 Jan 2009)

John Curran: I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 37 together. This Government is firmly committed to tackling the problem of drug misuse in our society. This is evidenced by the fact that the funding targeted at community-based initiatives funded through my Department's Vote doubled from 2003 to 2008 — from €31.5m over €64m. The relative reduction in the 2009 funding allocation to my Department...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (29 Jan 2009)

John Curran: At the outset, I want to put on record that I do not accept that there has been a deterioration of the partnership process under the National Drugs Strategy. Co-operation across the statutory, community and voluntary sectors has been a constant feature throughout the lifetime of the current Strategy. This is illustrated through many formal structures, such as inter-sectoral representation on...

Written Answers — Active Citizenship: Active Citizenship (29 Jan 2009)

John Curran: The Government has made significant progress in advancing measures in support of objectives on Volunteering and Active Citizenship. The Task Force on Active Citizenship recommended that a network of volunteer centres be funded across the country. My Department now provides annual funding of over €2.5m to twenty such centres. In 2008, these centres registered over 7,500 volunteers and over...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (29 Jan 2009)

John Curran: I regularly meet with senior Gardaí to keep up to-date with developments in respect of their drug-related operations. Reports on their progress are also made, on a quarterly basis, to the Inter Departmental Group on Drugs, which I chair. Gardaí are also represented on Local and Regional Drugs Tasks Forces. There has been significant success in relation to the supply reduction pillar of...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (29 Jan 2009)

John Curran: I propose to take Questions Nos. 33 and 35 together. As the Deputies will be aware, the Dial-to-Stop Drug Dealing Campaign was officially launched on 30 September 2008. This initiative involves a number of local and regional campaigns run through the mechanism of the Local and Regional Drugs Task Forces. The campaigns are designed to encourage people to provide any information they may have...

Written Answers — Voluntary Sector Funding: Voluntary Sector Funding (29 Jan 2009)

John Curran: In 2009, my Department is committed to the ongoing development of supports to strengthen and underpin the work of the community and voluntary sector in Ireland. Indeed, the growth of the sector in recent years has been accompanied by a significant expansion of supports by Government. My Department alone provides funding in excess of €400m annually to the groups and measures across the...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (29 Jan 2009)

John Curran: I propose to take Questions Nos. 114 and 115 together. This Government is firmly committed to tackling the problem of drug misuse in our society. This is evidenced by the fact that the funding targeted at community-based initiatives funded through my Department's Vote doubled from 2003 to 2008 — from €31.5m over €64m. These amounts included funding for the Young Peoples Facilities and...

Drugs Task Forces. (29 Jan 2009)

John Curran: A total of 14 local drugs task forces, LDTFs, are in operation, 12 of which are located in Dublin while the others are in Bray and Cork. The rest of the country is covered by ten regional drugs task forces, RDTFs. I have no plans to increase the number of LDTFs. From time to time during the extensive public consultation process undertaken in connection with the preparation of the new...

Drugs Task Forces. (29 Jan 2009)

John Curran: To reiterate, I inherited the situation and the public consultation was half over before I took up my position. I checked and it did not arise as a significant issue. The Deputy will be aware that while we have regional task forces, in some cases there are sub-committees on a county by county basis. If there were to be more task forces, we might lose sight of what we are trying to deliver....

Drugs Task Forces. (29 Jan 2009)

John Curran: The Deputy is right. At the public consultation meetings, the average number present was about 100, although I do not have the precise figures. Many of those attending obviously had an interest. They were either involved in providing the services, had family links or there was an area of particular interest for them. However, the process went further than just public consultation. We met...

National Drugs Strategy. (29 Jan 2009)

John Curran: My Department co-ordinated the Irish input into the development of the EU Drugs Action Plan 2009-2012 which was finalised late last year. Problem drug use is a global phenomenon and, in this context, it is important that we take an international perspective. Engagement at EU level is important and various Departments and agencies, as well as representatives of civil society in more recent...

National Drugs Strategy. (29 Jan 2009)

John Curran: To refer to the particular project we visited, it shows the inter-agency approach and the effectiveness of a number of agencies where 40 out of 50 people recovering from addiction and in rehabilitation are learning a skill with the real prospect of going to employment. Deputy Byrne mentioned the cuts and I will be as direct as I can. For the five year period from 2003 to 2008, the allocation...

National Drugs Strategy. (29 Jan 2009)

John Curran: Depending on who one speaks to there are 8,000 or 9,000 people on methadone treatments of one type or another. In recent weeks I met with the HSE to examine this issue. I am no different from the Deputy in that I meet families of people on methadone and I am concerned that people are on methadone for too long. For some people there might be no alternative but I am not satisfied that we...

The Economy: Statements (Resumed) (29 Jan 2009)

John Curran: I wish to share my time with the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate and I recognise this is the most serious issue to be dealt with by Members since I entered this House. At the outset, I wish to express my disagreement with the previous speaker, Deputy Burton, who stated that Fianna Fáil mismanagement caused this crisis. For...