Results 601-620 of 9,810 for speaker:Thomas Byrne

Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second Stage [Private Members] (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: Humour changes.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: I reiterate what I said earlier. In order to ensure that schools are not negatively impacted by these issues, all existing hours assigned for complex needs are being maintained for each school, which is an important point to remember. Approximately 98% of all children, including those with special educational needs, are educated in mainstream classes. We recognise there are children for...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: In answer to the first question on what the Minister is doing about this, in my reply I outlined the quite considerable work that is going on in the full root-and-branch review of the school transport scheme.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: That is important because the school transport scheme has run for a long time. There were fairly transparent rules around it and, quite frankly, all of us in the House try to get our constituents on a bus when the rules do not provide for that. In recent years, the rules have been extended, through the temporary alleviation scheme, to allow as many children as possible to get on school...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and for giving me the opportunity to clarify some of the concerns that have been raised regarding the allocations document which issued on 6 February. At the outset, it is important to remember there will be more special education teachers than ever before in our schools in September next, an increase of 1,000 since 2020. This is in addition to a...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an Teachta ós rud é go bhfuil an t-ábhar tábhachtach seo curtha faoi bhráid na Dála inniu. Before I address the specific issue raised, I will provide an outline of the extent of the school transport scheme. The scheme is a significant operation that is managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Early Childhood Care and Education (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: Core funding, which is a significant achievement of this Government, was first introduced in September 2022. It is designed and has worked to support improved quality of provision, improved pay and conditions for staff, a fee freeze for parents and sustainability and stability of income for services. Core funding makes a significant additional contribution to services' income, allowing them...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Early Childhood Care and Education (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: The announcement in September 2022 regarding early years education and childcare was really significant and in later years will be looked back upon with huge pride as a major achievement of this Government. It was a significant focus of the previous general election. All of us in government should be really proud of what we have achieved with regard to core funding. It is a massive step...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cancer Services (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: I just want to make one point first. I am not reading out the script that might have been provided to the Senator because it does not reflect the position of the Government and it certainly does not reflect the position of the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. I am getting that checked. I have been talking to the Minister. The position is that, first, we have championed women's...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cancer Services (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: I thank the Senator and others for raising this issue, including constituents. Some people in Louth were on to me as well about this particular issue. The script that has been provided here, by the HSE or whoever, does not reflect what the Minister has said. I speak with the authority of the Minister and I can state categorically that he has instructed the HSE to write to every woman it...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Hedge Cutting (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: I thank the Senator for raising this matter. In Ireland, our relatively low cover of native woodland makes our hedgerows exceptionally important for biodiversity. Hedgerows provide botanical diversity, as well as food and shelter for animals, most notably birds. They also act as corridors that connect habitats. They are a vital part of our biodiversity infrastructure. In general,...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Hedge Cutting (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: I understand the points raised by the Senator and his sincere motivations in this regard but the legal position is that the dates are set out in primary legislation and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has no power or discretion to vary them. The dates can only be altered by primary legislation enacted by the Oireachtas. I will take up the specific point the Deputy...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: An Clár Caipitil Spóirt (22 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: Cuirtear maoiniú caipitil don spórt ar fáil tríd an gClár Caipitil agus Trealaimh Spóirt (CCTS) agus tríd an gCiste d’Infreastruchtúr Spóirt ar Mhórscála (CISM). Is é an Clár Caipitil agus Trealaimh Spóirt an príomhbhealach ina gcuirtear cúnamh Rialtais ar fáil maidir le háiseanna spóirt...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Sports Funding (21 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: I propose to take Questions Nos. 93 and 94 together. The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Over 13,000 projects have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998 bringing the total allocations in...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Sports Funding (20 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: The Department operates two capital funding programmes for sport, namely the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) and the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). Both of these capital programmes are demand-driven. The SCEP is the government’s primary vehicle for providing support to sports clubs and communities to develop sports infrastructure around the country....

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Sports Funding (20 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Over 13,000 projects have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998 bringing the total allocations in that time to over €1.15 billion. The latest...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (20 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: The process referred to by the Deputy is in respect of significant grant funding to an organisation under the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme [SCEP]. In accordance with the terms and conditions of the SCEP, in view of the scale of grant funding in this case, it is necessary to put in place a number of legal protections to best safeguard the public investment in the facility. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Sports Funding (15 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: I was delighted to visit Lough Lannagh with the Deputy and Senator Chambers some months ago. To be honest, the Deputy brought me but he should probably invite all the chief executives of local authorities around the country to see what is in Castlebar. It is a fantastic facility. I cannot give any commitments here on the floor of the Dáil to any particular projects but that type of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Sports Funding (15 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: There will be a competitive process for this. We will not be building stadiums all around Ireland. I want to get that message out. It is not financially possible to do that. Every application will have to come either from a local authority or a national governing body, or perhaps an education and training board. Those organisations then have to stand over the project and deliver it....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Sports Funding (15 Feb 2024)

Thomas Byrne: The Minister and I have already confirmed that a new round of the large-scale sports infrastructure fund will open for applications in the first half of this year. We are still working out the dates and terms and conditions. They will be confirmed in due course. The programme is aimed primarily at national governing bodies of sport and local authorities but others such as philanthropic...