Results 5,961-5,980 of 13,291 for speaker:Joe McHugh

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: The Minister of State and I will answer the questions between us. We must be very clear at the outset that we cannot answer many of the questions relating to Brexit. There are a lot of hypothetical questions such as what happens if it is a disorderly or orderly Brexit. Regardless of which it is, this legislation will still be needed. We will still need to change the legislation either...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: They are.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: In the first week of January, we announced that the fees would be protected. Deputy Funchion also asked what would happen with fees. We have made a commitment for the coming year from September, for the duration of the course. I know the question is what about the following year-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: -----we have committed to protecting students who are coming from the North-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: ----- in relation to the €3,000 contribution.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: I am confident that with the change in this legislation we will be in a position to do that. It is very important to highlight that at all times we will encourage the continued movement of people whether it is North-South or east-west. However, we do not know what will happen within the next six weeks. This legislation is quite clear in what it is attempting to do, namely to ensure that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: We have to create that platform, first, but also create a pathway to ensure that there is more continuity. That is where I would like to be after whatever happens over the next six weeks, so that it is not on a year-to-year basis----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: Yes, but the decision that we made in January was to provide certainty for parents. Our job is to secure agreement on all of these matters including child support and the common travel area.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: We are trying to solve the big question here, namely the common travel area. This legislation relates to the student support scheme. Once we have some certainty in the next six weeks, whatever the outcome-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: To reiterate, there was a vacuum or uncertainty in January. I had to move really quickly to provide certainty to the parents in Northern Ireland. I met one of the mothers in Belfast two weeks ago. She said they had been in a very bad place because they did not know whether the student contribution fee of €3,000 was going to be protected. What will happen in the following two years...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: I will pick up on the point made by Deputy Naughten. If there is a no-deal Brexit at the end of March, the UK's participation in Erasmus will prove to be a difficulty. Obviously, we are working on every potential outcome and this legislation regardless of whether Brexit is disorderly or orderly. The Deputy also asked about the decline in numbers in terms of the North-South element. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: I know there are areas that have not been identified in terms of apprenticeships, but I know from speaking to different agencies and even at a local level from speaking to members of SOLAS that they are looking at new initiatives and there is an appetite for it. A recent study has shown that employers, particularly multinational companies, are equally satisfied with people coming from either...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: General Scheme of the Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: Deputy Byrne asked when the legislation would be completed. Hopefully, that will happen by the middle of March. Deputy McLoughlin asked what protections are in place for parents and students. He also spoke about certainty for students who want to study in Coleraine or some other institutions in Northern Ireland. The job we are trying to do here is very specific. We are trying to minimise...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Statement of Strategy 2019-2021: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. Táim an-sásta a bheith anseo os comhair an choiste chun labhairt faoi ráiteas straitéise úr mo Roinne. Táim an-bhuíoch don Aire Stáit ar a bhfuil freagracht as an ard-oideachas, Teachta Mitchell O'Connor, as a bheith i mo theannta inniu. Mar is eol do bhaill an choiste, bhí dualgas orm agus ar mo Roinn...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Statement of Strategy 2019-2021: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: Deputy Thomas Byrne asked about teacher supply. This is an issue in secondary schools, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM, subjects and Irish. There are also many issues with substitute teachers in the primary school sector. A group is working on this. We had an advertising campaign pre-Christmas and will continue to do that and look at different...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Statement of Strategy 2019-2021: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: I thank the committee members for their comments. There is a lot of good stuff in all of this. I would do the committee members an injustice if I kept them here for an hour to go through this line by line. This now is not just a matter of public record, it is also going to be the blacks and whites for my team to put together the action plan. Obviously not everything will be incorporated...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Statement of Strategy 2019-2021: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: We live in a crazy world, especially politicians where we maybe do not have enough boundaries in terms of time and taking time out. I will take up the invitation and I will attend on some Wednesday at 1.30 p.m.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Statement of Strategy 2019-2021: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: Deputy Martin stated that equality is at the heart of access. She talked about pay equality and the issue of teaching principals. I met a cohort of principals yesterday evening. It is a very difficult space for half of the primary schoolteachers who are teaching principals. It is an area in which I have given a commitment. Recently, at the Irish Primary Principals Network, IPPN,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Statement of Strategy 2019-2021: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: I am interested in hearing more about the critical thinking piece about the Young Philosopher Awards in UCD.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Statement of Strategy 2019-2021: Discussion (12 Feb 2019)

Joe McHugh: I am particularly interested in the awards as I studied philosophy for one year; I am not a philosophy graduate. The insecurity of teachers was mentioned, as were inequality and the key role played by secretaries. I am very conscious of the role that secretaries play in schools. They are front of house; they do not just deal with administration but deal with many aspects of the school...