Results 81-100 of 371 for speaker:Michael Conaghan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Conaghan: 500. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when the apprenticeship council will provide her with a report of proposals for a new way of developing apprenticeships; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5610/15]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (10 Feb 2015)

Michael Conaghan: 501. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the uptake from engagement with the enterprise sectors in promoting new apprenticeships as outlined in the apprenticeship implementation plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5611/15]

Junior Cycle Reform: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (21 Jan 2015)

Michael Conaghan: I thank Deputy Maloney for two minutes of his time. I will not exceed my time. The Teachers Union of Ireland has objected to some of the Minister's proposed reforms. However, I believe they are necessary and long overdue. I am particularly surprised at the TUI objections because the union has been a progressive presence in Irish education at second level, in further education and in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Jobless Households: NESC, ICTU and INOU (14 Jan 2015)

Michael Conaghan: I welcome the delegation. I want to raise an issue about education and training. Obviously, nothing beats having a job, especially if it is reasonably well-paid and draws on a person's skills. Nothing is more satisfying. There are benefits to social interaction in the workplace as well. However, in the absence of that there is a role for education and training and I wish to explore this...

Water Services Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (17 Dec 2014)

Michael Conaghan: With Irish Water we are establishing a major piece of national infrastructure. In terms of comparisons and analogies the best example is probably the establishment of the ESB in the early years of this State. As in the case of water provision now, at that time we had a multiplicity of small suppliers and local generating plants serving particular towns and districts. This situation...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Resourcing: Discussion (16 Dec 2014)

Michael Conaghan: It does not seem to be the-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Resourcing: Discussion (16 Dec 2014)

Michael Conaghan: It does not seem to be the matter under discussion, unless I am completely-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Resourcing: Discussion (16 Dec 2014)

Michael Conaghan: The Deputies are going on about procedural-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Resourcing: Discussion (16 Dec 2014)

Michael Conaghan: It is not resources. The Deputy is talking about procedural matters of 15 or 20 years ago.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Resourcing: Discussion (16 Dec 2014)

Michael Conaghan: I just do not see it as relevant to what this committee is normally about.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Resourcing: Discussion (16 Dec 2014)

Michael Conaghan: It seems more like a political jaunt than-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Resourcing: Discussion (16 Dec 2014)

Michael Conaghan: Mine is a very brief question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Resourcing: Discussion (16 Dec 2014)

Michael Conaghan: My question is very brief. What is the relevance of this discussion to this Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. It strikes me that it is more a matter of some historic review rather than about contemporary efforts to get more jobs. It does not strike me as relevant to that agenda, which is a very urgent one.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing (27 Nov 2014)

Michael Conaghan: 202. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government when a new scheme will be introduced to allow local authority tenants to purchase their houses; if he will provide details of the expected scheme and the way it will operate; the timeframe for its introduction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45660/14]

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2014: Committee Stage (26 Nov 2014)

Michael Conaghan: I would like to refer to something the Tánaiste mentioned. Job availability is a critical factor in obtaining employment. There is a twin path, however, because as the Tánaiste said, education and training are vital. Colleges of further education in Inchicore, Ballyfermot, Crumlin and Coolock are packed with men and women of all ages and backgrounds. Their passion is education...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Further Education and Training Strategy: Discussion (12 Nov 2014)

Michael Conaghan: I welcome the delegations. It was interesting to listen to their presentations. I wish to comment briefly on the sector. The strength of the sector lies in its history, which goes back deep into the 19th century, particularly in continental Europe. Since then, the challenge of the continuum between the individual skills and work has been tackled by educational providers very successfully,...

Social Welfare Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (11 Nov 2014)

Michael Conaghan: I just require a couple of minutes. I wish to draw attention to a few of the social protection initiatives in the recent budget. At the outset I refer to some of the broad, general principles underpinning the provisions. The principles in summary are as follows: first, to assist unemployed families to return to work; second, to help all families with the cost of raising children and;...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Trade Agreements (4 Nov 2014)

Michael Conaghan: 914. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will request the European Commission to provide an explicit exclusion of education from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, noting that the EU Foreign Affairs Council of Ministers has already excluded the audiovisual sector from TTIP, based on the public interest goal of preserving and promoting cultural and linguistic...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Role of Primary School Boards of Management: Discussion (22 Oct 2014)

Michael Conaghan: Yes, the VEC boards of different schools and colleges. I believe everyone learns from each other. There is a kind of mutual respect for where people are coming from and their role and responsibilities. I have always found that everyone comes away enriched in terms of what that school and the young people in that school are achieving. That is the whole purpose of it. We have to ask what...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Role of Primary School Boards of Management: Discussion (22 Oct 2014)

Michael Conaghan: I have sat on boards for over 30 years and my experience has been that they tend to be very respectful of members' positions, interests, knowledge and expertise. It is a learning encounter. I have never heard any great emphasis on legalistic interpretions of the role a member holds when he or she sits down at the table. It is not an easygoing but a more informal process, which does not...