Results 81-100 of 7,765 for speaker:Ruairí Ó Murchú

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I wish to ask the Minister about the way in which the incorrectly spelled new sign outside his Department came to be put in place, what the total cost of the sign was and the estimated cost for its removal and replacement. I hope the cost is at the lower end. Nobody has made more mistakes than me, and I know a printer who often said, “I print what I am given”, but we would...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: It cost €8,460 but there was no added cost because the mistake was at the supplier’s end. I suppose that answers the question. Obviously, there are wider questions on Government spending. These questions, concerning bike sheds, IT systems and the Revenue bill in the Minister’s Department, have almost been done to death here. We must spend public money wisely and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I hope it was not ominous that it was "Infrastructure" that was spelt incorrectly. I think it was missing an "r". I welcome what the Minister has said. There are many public servants doing really good work. Generally, what we are asking in here is that public procurement and planning work better and in a more streamlined way so we can see the delivery of more projects. I accept that...

Decriminalisation of People Who Use Drugs: Motion [Private Members] (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Once again we are going to have a lot of agreement in here. I welcome the Labour Party bringing this motion forward from the point of view of having an opportunity to speak, because we do not talk sufficiently about this issue and the impact drug addiction has on our communities. It is welcome that there is an element of people coming around to the health-led, trauma-led, harm reduction...

Committee on Disability Matters: Access to Work for Persons with Disabilities: Discussion (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Cuirim fáilte roimh na finnéithe anseo inniu. I will start with what a number of people said to me about the budget and the fact that we do not have a cost-of-disability payment. The budget has not taken into account the cost of disability that exists across the board. If somebody wants to mention that at some point, that will be fine. We are dealing with access to work. What...

Committee on Disability Matters: Access to Work for Persons with Disabilities: Discussion (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: It has improved in those circumstances. In general, could Ms Killeen go through anything that could be done to improve the scheme? My view is we need a complete review because it is obviously not working.

Committee on Disability Matters: Access to Work for Persons with Disabilities: Discussion (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: That would mean better engagement by the State with employers and facilitating them also so they can facilitate employees.

Committee on Disability Matters: Access to Work for Persons with Disabilities: Discussion (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: It would be fair to say, therefore, that the work and access programme is not fit for purpose and needs to be reviewed. Reviewing it should involve talking to those people who need to get the right reasonable accommodations on how best they can be operated. It is then about dealing with employers from the point of view of facilitating them because they would also speak about the difficulty...

Committee on Disability Matters: Access to Work for Persons with Disabilities: Discussion (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: It is difficult, but the big issue for a lot of people is they are afraid of losing benefits they had to fight tooth and nail to get in the first place.

Committee on Disability Matters: Access to Work for Persons with Disabilities: Discussion (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: We have schemes that do not work for people and we need to review and overhaul them to get something that works.

Committee on Disability Matters: Access to Work for Persons with Disabilities: Discussion (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: We finished there on the correct point, namely that we have a number of schemes which need a lot of work before they are fit for purpose. That was a really good point about the Civil Service and that it is not just a case of getting people in. We have to get people in and ensure that they have a right to a decent career trajectory. When we talk about the WPEP and programmes like that,...

Committee on Disability Matters: Access to Work for Persons with Disabilities: Discussion (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: It is an expectation, and that we also make it easy for them to do it as well.

Committee on Disability Matters: Access to Work for Persons with Disabilities: Discussion (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: It is fairly straightforward. At this point, we are looking at Intreo as the body that can do this. We just need to make sure it has sufficiently trained staff, and then it is engagement with all types of employers. It has to become the norm or otherwise we will maintain our position of having the lowest percentage of employment for disabled people and we will keep having this conversation...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Apprenticeships: Discussion (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Tá fáilte roimh na finnéithe go léir, go háirithe iad siúd ó Dhún Dealgan. It is great to have the witnesses here, particularly those who are training in DKIT. I want to ask a question about employers and the way the craft apprenticeship is set up. We can compare it with the northern one, where sometimes you are only away for a day and then you are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Apprenticeships: Discussion (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: I am wondering about the way it is set up. The employer takes you on and then you are gone. The idea of the Northern system is that you would only be away for a day or a week as opposed to a long period.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Apprenticeships: Discussion (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: Mr. Duffy is happy enough with the set-up at the minute.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Apprenticeships: Discussion (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: That would be the only big issue. I heard a number of the witnesses speak previously about the issues of cost. Obviously, we need to do whatever we can to address that because we have all got that from people in the constituency. Generally it is parents giving out about the cost. We obviously do not have enough people who are doing the work. Does anyone else have a view on that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Apprenticeships: Discussion (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: That is it. It is about designing something that works for both the employer and apprentice. I could probably ask a smart-arsed question and ask if the witnesses if they ever saw an exam paper beforehand, but that would probably be wrong at this point in time. Obviously, there is a serious issue with certification across the board. Would the witnesses have been aware of that sort of issue...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Apprenticeships: Discussion (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: That is good. The fact that we have certification that is working needs to be looked at in general outside of that issue. Sometimes that is more easily done as an outside body. Were any of the witnesses backlogged with the backlogs that existed across Covid and whatever? How long did that hold them up?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science: Apprenticeships: Discussion (5 Nov 2025)

Ruairí Ó Murchú: There was obviously an issue with first years because there was a delay with taking people in, with the financing issue that existed with SOLAS. These are things that need to be addressed. I assume this committee will make sure it holds the Government's feet to the fire.