Results 8,121-8,140 of 8,277 for speaker:Jennifer Carroll MacNeill

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: By how much are they increasing premiums?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: This is an issue of concern to me. I wrote to the Central Bank on it last week. I will send a copy of the letter to Mr. Cummins for his records. I ask him to stay in touch with me regarding any data he gets on it. I have asked the consumer protectorate division of the Central Bank to keep an eye on this issue because it would be inherently anti-competitive for business. As I think Mr....

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I am aware it is a labour-intensive industry, but it has already received significant labour-related financial supports. Is Mr. Cummins willing to engage on a VAT reduction that is linked to support for another industry, through refurbishment or other matters, for example, or is he simply seeking an absolute reduction in VAT?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I accept that and I am sure that will happen. On the range of supports under the July stimulus and others, questions have been asked regarding the nature of supports provided to businesses. The Government has taken a nuanced approach of trying to provide targeted supports for different-sized businesses and employers first, rather than allocating a blanket cash amount for every business. It...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Hospitality Sector (30 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I wish Mr. Cummins and his members well in reopening this week.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Needs Education: Impact of Covid-19 (25 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I thank the witnesses for coming in. Many of my questions have already been asked so I will try not to repeat them and let more people in as the day goes on. Therefore, I might take less time. I wish to ask about the impact on children at different stages of development and I thinking about the different ages. Obviously our concern is for all of the children. For many years the...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Needs Education: Impact of Covid-19 (25 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I take Mr. O'Connor's point. One of the cohorts that appears to have been left out is that comprising children with Down's syndrome transitioning to mainstream national schools in which there are no designated special classes. Is this an issue that has been highlighted often in the Inclusion Ireland survey or in anecdotal reports? I am not concerned about any one child in particular and I...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Needs Education: Impact of Covid-19 (25 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I think Ms Dempsey is right. For children without intellectual disabilities or any social vulnerabilities other than the Covid-19 period it will be difficult enough, particularly those who have been in an ECCE scheme and have had to drop out of it and may or may not go back to childcare or any sort of structured environment for July or August, in addition to the usual two months of settling...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Needs Education: Impact of Covid-19 (25 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I understand. Being locked down has been a problem for all children, but it affects some even more. I ask Ms Dempsey to talk me through the restrictions in terms of more hands-on therapy and hands-on physiotherapy. How can we get back to the level of support required?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Needs Education: Impact of Covid-19 (25 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I thank Ms Dempsey.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: Ms Griffin highlighted provision in south County Dublin. What are the reasons for what is coming up again and again, which is a significant difficulty in the area? Can Ms Griffin outline why we are so short of places in south County Dublin?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: South County Dublin is a built-up area and heavily concentrated in population terms. There are proportionally as many children there who need additional support as there are anywhere else. As a result, I urge Ms Griffin and the Department to do everything they can in this regard. We still have difficulty with the Red Door school and so on, but I will leave that for the moment and go back...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: From the perspective of teachers and SNAs, however, the Department cannot force them to participate.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: The Department therefore relies on their availability and interest. Many of them have been both available and interested very often, and it is great to see the engagement so far. This year is different, however, with everybody experiencing their own knock-on effects of Covid, whether illness in the family, childcare arrangements or whatever. To confirm, this is a voluntary scheme. The...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: This year there are 200.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: As for the supports that were provided, we listened to Inclusion Ireland earlier and it seems parents had very different experiences of the level of support provided to their children - from provision in some schools being excellent to provision in others being minimal. Can Mr. Tattan talk about the overall background to this and the level of engagement with the Department and the different...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: Okay. If this were to happen in November, for example, we could expect that schools will be ready. It is not just an online provision because one can pick up the phone or send documents. Parents might expect a more consistent response from schools in the future. I appreciate this happened suddenly and quickly and without preparation but we will never be in that situation again, so we...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I have a question regarding one of the new categories of eligibility, namely, children transitioning into a special class in a primary school from an early-years setting. I see what the Department is trying to do there. I raised it with Inclusion Ireland. I wish to raise the case of children who have been in supported early-years settings and are now transitioning into mainstream primary...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I am sorry to interrupt, but if one accepts the point that the area I represent is already under-resourced in terms of the provision of special classes, the fact the child is not going into a designated special class may be because the class is not available, rather than a recognition of the child's needs. Does Mr. Tattan see my point? Going into a mainstream school is difficult anyway, but...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: The waiting list system was changed a couple of years ago, and with good reason. I wish to focus on young children whose parents assess that there is an intellectual disability but cannot get a formal assessment until the child is five for cognitive processing reasons. How do we support those parents who feel their children will need to be in a special school, but they cannot get their name...