Results 861-880 of 11,777 for speaker:Niall Collins

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Irish Language (3 Oct 2023)

Niall Collins: In the Further Education and Training (FET) sector, there is provision available in relation to the Irish Language. This provision is mainly free or heavily subsidised, and may be available to those in receipt of social welfare payments. This includes courses such as Irish for Beginners, Irish for Parents, Conversational Irish, Irish Language and Culture, etc. The Education and Training...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (27 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: 74. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department is dealing with any applications from second-level schools in Tallaght for additional autism classroom accommodation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41673/23]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Correspondence (26 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: 248. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when a school (details supplied) will receive payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41109/23]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Correspondence (26 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: 417. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality for an update on an application (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41249/23]

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Funding (26 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: 440. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 1315 of 11 September 2023, if he will advise on additional correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41254/23]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (26 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: Within the FET Sector, the Fund for Students with a Disability (FSD) is currently available to students pursuing PLC courses. The recently published the 2023 Annual Options Paper on the cost of higher education includes an option to extend the FSD across the Further Education and Training Sector. A costing of €5m has been estimated for this proposal which would be complemented by the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (26 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: Pre-Apprenticeship programmes are offered by Education and Training Boards (ETBs). While this is under the funding and strategic direction of SOLAS, the ETBs decide on the level and nature of pre-apprenticeship programmes, which is based on learner demand. In 2019 a three-year open call was issued for pre-apprenticeship programmes which commenced in 2020. Learner enrolments on these...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Local Authorities (21 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: I thank the Deputy. We are all on the same page. There is a claim and a dispute. The two parties to the dispute need to resolve the matter. There are established State mechanisms to resolve disputes and, to their credit, they have worked and kept industrial peace for many years. A very successful pay agreement, namely, Building Momentum, is coming to a conclusion. As I stated, talks...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Local Authorities (21 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I will take this matter on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien. To begin, I would like to clarify that under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each chief executive of a local authority is responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (21 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. Before I address the specific issues raised, I would like to 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 2022-23 school year, more than 149,000 children, including more than 18,000 children with special...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (21 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: I concur wholeheartedly with what you have said, a Cheann Comhairle, in this regard. The criticism you have raised about there being no mention of Wicklow is valid. Equally, I am grappling with what the Deputy articulated in my constituency in Limerick. What is being experienced in County Wicklow is the same in Limerick. We are trying to work through that. The Deputy did not mention it...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Public Transport (21 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: I would like to acknowledge that Deputy Ó Ríordáin has raised this Topical Issue relating to lift access in Clongriffin. On behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, the matter raised is one in which the Minister has no direct function. However, planning plays an important role in enabling the alignment of housing...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Public Transport (21 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: I will absolutely convey Deputy Ó Ríordáin’s concerns and those of his constituents in the community that he represents to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and indeed to the Minister for Transport. I think the Deputy is quite right and justified and he has presented a very reasonable case as to why this problem has to be rectified. I have read...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Bus Services (21 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: I thank the Deputy for raising this important topic, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan. I will clarify that the Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport but neither the Minister nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. The statutory...

Affordable Housing: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (21 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: I thank all the Deputies for their contributions. We appreciate the opportunity to set out the important progress being made by the Government in terms of providing affordable housing solutions to those on modest incomes who are above the income thresholds for social housing. We are all aware of the scale of the housing task we face and of the profound impact that the consequences of...

Affordable Housing: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (21 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: I think they missed their slot but we will allow it anyway.

Affordable Housing: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (21 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: The Acting Chair is a very fair air traffic controller. They missed their landing slot but we will allow them to land.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Information and Communications Technology (21 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: The Digital Inclusion Roadmap brings together work across Government to achieve digital inclusion through better skills, access and infrastructure. My Department's role in respect of the Roadmap is ensuring that adults have basic digital skills, including skills to use the internet for older people, should they wish to do so. The Adult Literacy for Life, or ALL Strategy is a crucial...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (21 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: 172. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she can advise the procedure for a student who is unable to locate a secondary school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40860/23]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (21 Sep 2023)

Niall Collins: There are over 2,800 tutors employed across the 16 ETBs who are involved in delivering key programmes to learners within the Further Education and Training sector. A range of industrial relations issues regarding adult education tutors have been under discussion for a number of years and progress has been made in resolving key issues, including the introduction of a consistent formula for...