Results 7,241-7,260 of 8,600 for speaker:Seán Crowe

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: Question 100: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a comparative analysis of the ratio of pupils and special needs assistants servicing national schools compared to primary schools in the Six Counties. [19251/11]

Higher Education Grants (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: Most families try, when their kids enter education, to budget for it over a number of years. However, having established that budget, many families now unfortunately are being obliged to pull their children out of education. In the case of one family with which I am familiar, it was a question of which child would be taken out of education. I refer to the pledge that was made and while I...

Higher Education Grants (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: As the Minister is aware, the difficulty will be with the grey areas and will affect those people who are on the edge or who are just outside the limit. However, the problem is worsening and increasing numbers of families and students are coming forward in this regard. Another difficulty arises in respect of some students who are lone parents but who also fall outside such thresholds. They...

Special Educational Needs (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: The Minister states the investment could be more than €290 million. Can a breakdown be provided of what has not been implemented? For instance, the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, of which I am a member, is carrying out an audit of the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement that have not been implemented. The investment needs to be rights-based. Is...

Special Educational Needs (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: We had choices as to how we could have dealt with it.

Special Educational Needs (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: Therefore, we treat our citizens as second-class citizens.

Teaching Qualifications (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: I commend the work of the PDST which is excellent. However, there are deficits in teaching subjects through Irish. Those who come from a meánscoil and those teaching project maths and related subjects require technical support. It is not just a case of people being able to speak the language, they must have the technical ability to deliver it. I do not know the extent of the vacancies....

Teaching Qualifications (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: Language activists and those involved in schools have said there is a weakness in the system. I will revert to the Minister of State. The people concerned have referred specifically to the teaching of chemistry and mathematics which need support if taught through the medium of Irish. Those delivering supports often do so through English rather than Irish. That is the weakness in the system.

Voluntary Contributions (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: What is really galling for many parents is the fact that these payments are supposedly voluntary. When addressing some of the teachers' conferences, the Minister referred to the book-lending scheme initiative and also said he would not put new books on the curriculum. We all support that initiative but how will it be rolled out? No one should be putting families under extra pressure,...

School IT Systems (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: I am aware of the initiative on rolling out broadband. One of the difficulties facing schools is the speed at which such a service can be accessed. Another difficulty can arise if an IT teacher retires because one must then buy in such expertise, which puts pressure on existing resources. It is increasingly happening and the issue is being discussed by boards of management which are trying...

Schools Building Projects (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: Question 2: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the funding he intends to make available to complete the construction of new school builds and upgrades to existing buildings including snag lists that were the responsibility of builders who went out of business during the economic downturn resulting in many schools being left unfinished and unfit for use. [19503/11]

Schools Building Projects (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: We touched on this when we discussed the Estimates. I do not know the extent of the problem. I am aware of previous problems with subcontractors and with delays in payments to contractors. The only such evidence I have that schools have encountered such difficulties is anecdotal. Apparently, the process of accessing the bond mentioned by the Minister can be quite slow because the legal...

Schools Building Projects (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: I raised with the previous Minister the fact that many contractors are submitting bids that are too low. That is causing difficulty for legitimate contractors. The University of Limerick had a problem with a contractor recently. This issue arises with big and small jobs. It would be useful if a mechanism could be found to give us a sense of the extent to which this is having an impact....

Schools Building Projects (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: Would the Minister agree to the review?

Special Educational Needs (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: Question 5: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a report outlining the way a decision is made by him in which children with behavioural or special needs may lose a special needs assistant; the appeals process currently in place and the amount of schools, children and parents that have been informed that they are losing their supports next year. [19504/11]

Special Educational Needs (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: Would the Minister agree that the critical issue is that parents must trust the SENO and the National Council for Special Education? The difficulty facing many parents who have been recently through the process is that there is a lack of trust, transparency and consistency. There seems to be a lack of consistency, not only locally in Ireland but internationally. The value for money review...

Special Educational Needs (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: I accept a cap is in place. Recently my colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty, tabled a question about the number of special needs assistants employed in County Donegal. He was informed this was not readily available, which seems bizarre. How are these assessments carried out? It appears there are difficulties across the board. How many of the children assessed have been taken out of DEIS...

Requests to move Adjournment of Dáil under Standing Order 32 (7 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 32 to discuss a matter of major public importance, namely, the imminent cuts to special needs assistants working in schools and the implications the current Government's policy is having on schools such as St. Mark's junior national school in Springfield in Tallaght which has had its SNA allocation cut from 13 to 6.5, a reduction of...

Written Answers — Olympic Games: Olympic Games (6 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: Question 50: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the efforts he has made to ensure the Olympic torch passes through Ireland in the run up to the London Olympics in 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18967/11]

Written Answers — Public Service Remuneration: Public Service Remuneration (5 Jul 2011)

Seán Crowe: Question 43: To ask the Minister for Finance the total savings to the Exchequer in a full financial year arising from a cap of €100,000 on public sector pay. [18588/11]