Results 7,361-7,380 of 13,291 for speaker:Joe McHugh

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Schools Site Acquisitions (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: As the Deputy is aware, the school to which she refers is included in my Department’s six-year construction programme. The acquisition of a suitable site is required to facilitate the project. With the assistance of officials in Fingal County Council under the memorandum of understanding for the acquisition of school sites, a number of site options were identified. They were...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Schools Site Acquisitions (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: Unfortunately, as the Deputy rightly pointed out, I am not in a position to offer the clarity the parents want. However, we have a new system in place under a memorandum of understanding between the Department and local authorities which act on behalf of the Department in negotiations. I have no doubt that that the Deputy raising the matter publicly in the House will focus the minds of...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): School Transport Provision (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: I thank the Deputy and I look forward to working with her. I will reiterate what I said at the committee this morning. I see the committee providing a key role in my roadmapping and in how I perform my duties as Minister. I am certain about the knowledge the committee has built up during the past two and a half years. I want to continue with the conversation and bring it in to the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): School Transport Provision (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: I appreciate the frustration of Deputy Funchion on this issue. I realise we are well into the first term. I can understand how frustrating this can be for parents. I will provide some background for the three areas in question. I will suggest something then that Deputy Funchion may decide for or against. Currently, three school transport services operate from the Paulstown and Gowran...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): School Transport Provision (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: I am happy to speak to the Minister of State. I know several of my colleagues have contacted me on the matter as well. Maybe we can have a cross-party group meeting with the Minister of State to see if, as Deputy Funchion pointed out, there is a local solution. That is something I would be happy to pursue.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Schools Site Acquisitions (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: As the Deputy has pointed out, my Department provided a comprehensive update to the Joint Committee on Education and Skills, of which he is a member, on 30 September last and has committed to providing updates regularly on the status of the 42 new schools to be provided over the next four years from 2019 to 2022. The current focus for my Department is to prioritise the 17 schools opening...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed) (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: Thank you very much, a Chathaoirligh.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Site Acquisitions (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: I thank the Deputy for his kind words this morning. My Department's decision to acquire the site was taken in the context of a review of demographics of the area which demonstrated a substantial projected growth in enrolment, known limited land availability and the impending sale. From a school provision perspective, this site is well located to serve south Dublin city. In March...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Site Acquisitions (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: The first question I asked when I was briefed on the issue yesterday was if there were any property value comparisons in the area because I wanted to get my head around it. The sum of €23 million for 6 acres is big money. The Valuation Office concluded in April 2017 that the appropriate market valuation for the site was €23 million, which breaks down to €3.8 million an...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Site Acquisitions (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: I am happy to ask the officials to look at the matter again. There has been ongoing engagement on the site going back to 2016. I hope the information which will be provided on the website tomorrow morning will be comprehensive but if Deputy Thomas Byrne needs further information I will be happy to work him. The issue is new to me as of yesterday and I have been briefing myself on it. One...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Report on Positive Mental Health in Schools: Minister for Education and Skills (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: I thank the Chair and committee for the invitation. I acknowledge that they are reaching out and want an inclusive approach here. That is the language that I was speaking to my officials with yesterday. I see a role for this committee. The work and report it has done on positive mental health and well-being and the committee's suggestions are of critical importance. I will be looking at...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Report on Positive Mental Health in Schools: Minister for Education and Skills (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: I thank the Chairperson and the members for their contributions and their approach on my first day at committee. Engagement is important and I am accountable for a large budget of nearly €10.8 billion. I know the honeymoon period will not last long, but I look forward to that as well because dialogue-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Report on Positive Mental Health in Schools: Minister for Education and Skills (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: Did the Deputy not say for the whole day? Was it just the morning? I will go through each person's contribution, if that is okay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Report on Positive Mental Health in Schools: Minister for Education and Skills (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: If there are areas where more information is needed, we can get back to the committee directly. Deputy Martin said education is an investment and not a cost. Education is wider, broader and different. The old Irish word "oideachas" suggests it is about the second family and parents entrusting their young people with the second family, whether it is in naíonraí, primary school,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Report on Positive Mental Health in Schools: Minister for Education and Skills (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: Everybody will have a copy. Has school-based counselling been tried and tested? A lot of work has been done on the well-being policy as it relates to the Australian model but also in relation to mental wellness at primary school level. I am in total agreement that it has to start at early stages for young people when they are entering a different world and there is an overload of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Report on Positive Mental Health in Schools: Minister for Education and Skills (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: I am getting that feedback and as I step into my brief I will get more feedback. I am meeting the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals, NAPD, tomorrow and I will continue that intensive engagement for the short to medium term. That is why I want to look at the 2019 preparation and work with the committee on a 2019 plan and a three year plan to see what is working and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Report on Positive Mental Health in Schools: Minister for Education and Skills (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: In fairness there has been a massive drive on mental health in this current Parliament over the past two and a half years, not just because Deputy Catherine Martin came here, but because of the significance of what is happening with this new type of politics. As somebody who has been in the position of Chief Whip, the consensus approach where I engaged with the likes of Deputies Mattie...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Report on Positive Mental Health in Schools: Minister for Education and Skills (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: We are leaders and that leadership is in a public manner. This committee is being broadcast live today. People could be in their kitchens today watching. It could be a mother or father whose children are at school or it could be a child who is not at school today listening to this so how we engage with each other and treat each other - the word "respect" was used - is all important in our...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Report on Positive Mental Health in Schools: Minister for Education and Skills (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: I am happy to forward that information to the Deputy and as final point before the Deputy leaves, whether one is a physics teacher or a French teacher one also has the mindfulness responsibility. The teachers do that really well and it is a whole-school approach which was the Deputy's number one priority coming to this committee. I do not know if her priorities were outlined chronologically...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Report on Positive Mental Health in Schools: Minister for Education and Skills (18 Oct 2018)

Joe McHugh: I look forward to working with Deputy Thomas Byrne and I refer to his questions around guidance counselling. He raised the issue of responsibility for counselling. This goes back to the collaborative suggestion that the Chairman was making. The responsibility for the provision of mental health services and counselling for young people lies with the Department of Health and the Health...