Results 621-640 of 2,335 for speaker:Joe O'Brien

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Early Childhood Care and Education (4 May 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Senator for raising the issue. The availability of high-quality early learning and childcare is a key Government priority. Early learning and childcare capacity is monitored by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on an ongoing basis, with a particular focus on responding to the unmet early learning and childcare needs of families. The annual...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Early Childhood Care and Education (4 May 2023)

Joe O'Brien: The Government, the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and I understand the challenges faced by parents in Fingal county. There is a clear need. It is one of the counties with the lowest vacancies rates in the country. I checked this before I came in. Interestingly and usefully, a data collection exercise on the early years sector will start tomorrow. Pobal will lead that. It will give us a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (3 May 2023)

Joe O'Brien: The aim of the Community Employment (CE) programme is to enhance the employability of disadvantaged and long-term unemployed people by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their local communities on a temporary fixed term basis. In addition to providing valuable occupational experience and training as a stepping-stone to employment for people who are...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (3 May 2023)

Joe O'Brien: The aim of the Community Employment (CE) programme is to enhance the employability of disadvantaged and long-term unemployed people by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their local communities on a temporary fixed term basis. The programme aims to improve a person’s opportunities to return to employment. Those who are unemployed and in receipt of an...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Youth Services (3 May 2023)

Joe O'Brien: The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is responsible for the provision of funding for delivery of support services to youth organisations. While my Department may provide some ad-hoc funding under our programmes to youth-focused organisations for specific initiatives, it does not provide any direct funding for delivery of support services for young people....

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Rail Network (27 Apr 2023)

Joe O'Brien: On behalf of the Minister for Transport, I thank the Deputies for the opportunity to address this issue and to provide the House with an update on the future development of the western rail corridor. As the Deputies may be aware, services have been operating between Limerick and Athenry via Ennis on a section of the western rail corridor since 2010. In 2021, two reports were published in...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Rail Network (27 Apr 2023)

Joe O'Brien: As highlighted previously, and noting the conclusion in the JASPERS review that there was a lack of strategic context for planning investment in the heavy rail network in 2021 the Minister for Transport, in partnership with the Minister for Infrastructure, announced his intention to undertake an all-island strategic rail review. This review is considering how the rail network on the island...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (27 Apr 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I thank Deputy O'Sullivan. I still encourage people to apply. We all make the assumption that the numbers this year will be the same as last year. This could well be the case but people will not be in the mix if they do not make an application. I suggest that they make an application anyway. Other Deputies will identify with the situation that Deputy O'Sullivan has described. It is the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Waste Management (27 Apr 2023)

Joe O'Brien: A recent report produced for Dublin City Council by the Institute of Public Administration found it would be contrary to competition law to exclude private companies from the waste collection market in favour of returning the function to local authorities. Altering the structure of the market for tendering by local authorities would take several years and require consideration of legal...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (27 Apr 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Before I address the issues raised, I will provide an outline of the extent of the school transport scheme. The scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, are transported...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Hospital Services (27 Apr 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I again thank the Deputy for raising this matter regarding the services at Naas General Hospital. I fully accept the importance of growing healthcare services for the people of Kildare and west Wicklow. The commitment of the Government to the future of this hospital is clear. Funding for Naas hospital as part of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group has continued to increase year on year. As...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Waste Management (27 Apr 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I thank Deputy Whitmore for raising the issue. Local authorities are responsible for municipal waste collection and waste management planning within their functional areas. The obligations on local authorities in relation to collecting household waste are set out in section 33 of the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended. In summary, it provides that each local authority shall collect, or...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Hospital Services (27 Apr 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I thank Deputy Durkan for raising the issue of services at Naas General Hospital and to also acknowledge the Deputy’s work in advocating for the people of Kildare and west Wicklow. Naas General Hospital is an acute public hospital with 189 inpatient beds and 18 day-care beds, serving a catchment area with a population of over 250,000 people. The services in the hospital are...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Transport (27 Apr 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Before I address the specific issue raised, I would like to provide an outline of the extent of the school transport scheme. The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, more than 149,000 children, including in excess of 18,000 children...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Transport (27 Apr 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I again thank the Senator for the opportunity to update the House on school transport for the current school year. I reiterate that all eligible pupils who applied on time this year have now been facilitated on board a service for the 2022-23 school year. In addition, there has been a 40% increase in the number of tickets issued to concessionary pupils for the current school year compared...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Transport (27 Apr 2023)

Joe O'Brien: The requirements in respect of distance and eligibility for the temporary alleviation measures are clear but they will be happy to engage with the Senator when he has more specifics. It is a good opportunity to remind people, as the Senator has done, that the closing date for applications is tomorrow. There is that small window and people who have not put in an application should do so as...

Seanad: Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Second Stage (27 Apr 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I am pleased to present the Bill, which introduces important legislative reforms across a number of areas. The Bill is part of a suite of measures the Department of Justice continues to introduce to improve access to justice and modernise the courts system. While many of the amendments in the legislation are administrative in nature, when enacted it will have a positive impact on citizens,...

Seanad: Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Second Stage (27 Apr 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I am delighted to have the opportunity to introduce the Bill. I thank all the Senators for their contributions to the debate. Miscellaneous provisions Bills such as this offer an important opportunity to bring legislation up to date across a broad range of areas, from rebalancing occupier's liability to centralising and automating court offices and processes, and from improving citizenship...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (27 Apr 2023)

Joe O'Brien: As the Deputy will be aware, the Community Employment (CE) Scheme is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis to improve their prospect of returning to employment. Participation on CE is for 19.5 hours per...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Voluntary Sector (25 Apr 2023)

Joe O'Brien: As the Deputy will be aware, the future board leaders pilot 2023 is a joint initiative by the Leadership Academy, a project of The Wheel, and Boardmatch Ireland. It is primarily funded by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science through the National Training Fund. While my Department does not deal directly with the future board leaders pilot, it does...