Results 5,661-5,680 of 9,894 for speaker:Thomas Byrne

Other Questions: School Accommodation Provision (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: Will the Minister give a timeframe? How long will this process be? How long will it take? We have all been aware of the process at local level. We are keen for this to be done as soon as possible. Certainly, I have no wish to interfere in the commercial side of the Department or put pressure there. In situations such as this and others that will arise as we need to build more schools in...

Other Questions: Teachers' Remuneration (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: Notwithstanding the fact that this matter is officially under the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Department of Education and Skills is one of the key Departments affected by it. Throughout the recession, young teachers were employed because we needed teachers whereas staff were not taken on in other areas of the public service. A large cohort of young teachers have been in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Transport Administration (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: The Minister of State's answer has not provided any clarity to anybody. I would like him to clarify what is the position. Will students who have concessionary places lose out this September because of the review, or can he give a guarantee to this House that no students with concessionary places will lose out because of the review by his Department, that their place will be available on a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Transport Administration (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: I want to clarify with the Minister of State that no students, regardless of their having concessionary places or otherwise, will lose their place on a school bus this September; that they are guaranteed their place on a school bus this September.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Transport Administration (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: 5. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to address concerns that the school transport scheme is not being run on an efficient basis, especially with regard to route selection criteria and criteria for providing a service to students wishing to avail of the scheme on a concessionary basis. [18466/16]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Transport Administration (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: School transport is an issue of major concern. My difficulty is there are three different positions on the scheme within the Department. These are outlined in a ministerial briefing, the programme for Government and by a press officer following a major story in the Irish Independent. There is huge confusion among the public. A number of my colleagues, including Deputy Calleary, have been...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Admissions (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: 3. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills how he intends to deal with the issue of discrimination on religious grounds in school admissions; and his plans to insert a provision into the forthcoming schools admission Bill to deal with this issue. [18465/16]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Admissions (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: The religious criterion for admission to schools has been a major issue for years. While the most famous example is in Dublin, I have come across it several times in Meath. We would like to know what the Minister intends to do in the Government's schools admission Bill, notwithstanding other Bills that are before us.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Admissions (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: Across the country, there is an increasing mismatch in patronage arrangements for national schools in particular, although it will become a more common issue for secondary schools as the years go on and as the bubble of national school students moves on. The overwhelming focus on patronage divestment during the past five years has distracted from the essential and immediately relevant...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Admissions (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: Does the Minister have a timeframe in mind? If Deputy Joan Burton's proposal were to succeed, or our proposal which is a variation on it, work will have to be done on catchment areas. Does the Department have administrative arrangements in place for this? This issue is rightly a political hot potato. It must be addressed and there is a responsibility on us to do so. We all see injustices...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Lansdowne Road Agreement (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: That is disappointing.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Lansdowne Road Agreement (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: The practicalities.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Lansdowne Road Agreement (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: I agree with the Minister on one point: the ASTI should be in talks. I encourage its members to ask their leadership to go into talks. I also ask the leadership to show leadership. It is not acceptable that children may be put at risk, not simply because of the repudiation but also because of the general atmosphere that would pervade in schools come September. That is what I am mostly...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Lansdowne Road Agreement (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: 1. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the dispute with the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland, ASTI, over the Lansdowne Road agreement; and to provide an update on the arrangements for dealing with the data protection issues that may arise if financial emergency measures in the public interest legislation is applied to ASTI members in second level schools....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Lansdowne Road Agreement (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: Many issues will have to be handled in the Minister's Department this week, in particular the issue of the ASTI and the Lansdowne Road agreement. There are other industrial relations issues in the Department, including other issues with the ASTI. An update to the Dáil is needed on how exactly the Minister proposes to approach what is threatened by the ASTI and what he is doing to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Lansdowne Road Agreement (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: I am surprised that such a meeting has not taken place before now. There are difficulties on both sides and the ASTI leadership must reflect what its members have voted for and represent them but there must be value in talking and trying to resolve this because we face an administrative nightmare for the Minister and the Department. How will the Minister do this? Are we going to use the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Literacy Programmes (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: 19. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to reform the literacy and numeracy strategy; his views on the gap that exists in literacy and in numeracy between advantaged and disadvantaged schools; his plans for new standardised testing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18282/16]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: 33. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of funding for the building of a school (details supplied). [18241/16]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: 39. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of negotiations with the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland regarding the outstanding dispute over reform of the junior education cycle; to address concerns by students and parents that students in schools staffed by members of the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland will lose 10% in English examinations in 2017...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Administration (28 Jun 2016)

Thomas Byrne: 40. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to address concerns that the school transport programme is not being run on an efficient basis, especially with regard to route selection criteria and the criteria for providing a service to students wishing to avail of the programme on a concessionary basis. [18280/16]