Results 61-80 of 3,246 for speaker:Marc Ó Cathasaigh

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (Resumed). (21 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: On the specifics of the level 7 qualification, is there any prescription around what area that level 7 would be in? Is there any requirement for it to have a linguistic element? Can someone have a level 7 in whatever it is, take a month-long course and they are then a qualified English-language teacher?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (Resumed). (21 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I remember the terror of being asked for the first time the difference between a transitive and an intransitive verb, and I was coming from a language background and had a language degree - I had studied English and had done components of other languages as well. I am not at all sure that somebody who comes from, say, an engineering degree arrives with the required level of linguistic...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (Resumed). (21 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Is there a structured CPD element? There certainly was not in the past, although I know my experience of this is very much out of date. I assume a lot of this is still summertime work; for example, courses being run out of the local secondary school, where the Italian and Spanish students are dropping in. I did several years of this before I went back to train as a primary school teacher....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (Resumed). (21 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: How many of the people who are teaching ESL are working all year round as opposed to people who teach in the summer? How long are people staying within the profession? If we are serious about CPD, then we are talking about people who are making this a long-term career. However, if we are talking about the students from UCD doing three months during the summer, then we may throw our hat at...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (Resumed). (21 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: However, there is not an incremental scale as such for the classroom teacher. Most of these are private operators and so would be paid an hourly wage. I understand that those looking for career progression will move into management or something like that. However, it does create concerns. I am aware that I am well over time but I want to come back to Mr. Moynes on the protection issue...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (Resumed). (21 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Mr. Moynes does understand that a lot of this is happening in a grey area.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (Resumed). (21 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: In platform working, for example, workers are all sharing the licences. They know if somebody calls the ball on that, then all of their mates' licences are gone. It is similar when people who know they are in breach of the visa requirements have an issue in the workplace. They are unlikely to go to the WRC. Despite the stated reason for these people to be here, they do not have the...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Insurance Coverage (21 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: 195. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if e-scooters and other powered personal transporters are covered by public liability insurance in the same way bicycles are; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22610/24]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Insurance Coverage (21 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: 196. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport whether regulations surrounding insurance for e-scooters and powered personal transporters of a certain power are forthcoming; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22611/24]

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Research Funding (21 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: 483. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 29 of 9 March 2023, whether research into precision fermentation specifically forms part of any of the successful applications funded under his Department's thematic research call 2023; if research into the area and its potential to disrupt and undermine traditional modes of food production is...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (21 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: 626. To ask the Minister for Health the timeline for the approval of an increase in optometrists' fees given the lack of increase in fees over 20 years (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22859/24]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Strategies (21 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: 627. To ask the Minister for Health when a national programme for public eyecare for children over eight years of age will be approved to ensure equity of access to eyecare for all children of the State, as committed to in the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22860/24]

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I thank our guests for their presentations and briefing documents. I do not intend to be especially negative but as we are discussing this business of forward planning, essentially what we are hearing is there is nothing to see here and move on. All of us know the situation from different representations we have received. By way of example, one should never talk about policy based on a...

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: It is a real issue. I want to ask about the modelling the Department uses in respect of the provision of special classrooms. We are seeing a lot of response to demand. If there is a demand for special classrooms, then the Department may or may not provide them. Again, I could talk about Tramore but I will not at this point. We have discussed this issue but I am not sure whether that was...

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: That is not the language I used or would use. I do not think there is systemic failure. I think the vast majority of children in our school system are well provided for and I reiterate I did not use that language.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: There are international examples of prevalence rates, particularly with autism, and we have no reason to think our population is different. I was not going to go there but as Ms McNally raised the issue of climate, I will refer to an issue that I raised with the Department at the education committee when we were discussing the public sector performance report. What the industry calls...

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I am sorry to interrupt but we do not consider, as part of that roadmap, emissions as people travel to and from school. Am I correct in that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Yes but we need to be properly planning the active travel infrastructure. We can look at all the behavioural things that we like but the actual hard infrastructure has to be there, particularly when we are talking about children, whether at primary or secondary. We can lecture to people all we want about how 14-year old children should not be in a car going to school but if there is no...

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I am sorry to cut in again but ten minutes is incredibly short and I have a list of questions as long as my arm. I am not buttering my own parsnips here but I want to talk about Gaelscoileanna in Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8. I raise this because I have a passion for the Irish language. The people of south Dublin need a Gaelscoil but they are not getting one. There is a problem with the model...

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: If I get a second opportunity to ask questions, I will raise a range of different subjects but I have one final question on school transport for now. The Department's own briefing note refers to pilot projects for 2024 and 2025. I would like a little bit more meat on the bones on that, including the possibility of integrating with public transport services and so on. The other point I...