Results 81-100 of 166 for speaker:Shane Curley

Seanad: School Transport: Statements (30 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as ucht a bheith anseo arís. I will start by acknowledging the sheer scale of the school transport system in Ireland. The Minister of State has outlined some of the figures, including the fact that 178,000 students get on approximately 8,200 vehicles around the country on a daily basis, covering 10,600 routes. That is a massive undertaking...

Seanad: Pension Auto-Enrolment: Statements (30 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: I will not repeat everything that has been said about the positives of this move except to say that I hugely welcome the movement towards auto-enrolment. One of the huge positives I see that has not been mentioned today by Senators is the mobility of the fund. Nowadays, people do not have lifelong careers in one particular job as much as they did previously. The fact that the fund moves...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects (25 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: On Tuesday, I raised an issue on the Order of Business and, on the advice of the Leader, submitted a Commencement matter. The issue relates to Carrabane National School just outside Loughrea, County Galway. I was strong in mentioning that this is a 20-year debacle that is not the doing of the Minister of State or the Minister, Deputy McEntee. It is something they have inherited, but it...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects (25 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: I appreciate that a definite timeline cannot be given. There is a review under way and I hope it moves quickly. As the Minister of State mentioned, two special classes were included in the build. Twenty years ago, Carrabane National School was the first national school outside the city boundary in County Galway to introduce a special class. The school was proactive. Extended members of...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: The Gort area small schools pilot project in south Galway has been such a success that the cluster administration officer in that role has been name-checked and highlighted as a shining light of what can be rolled out across the country for small schools. The role allows one day of administrative relief per school per week. It is a genius idea. It has been such a success for the schools...

Seanad: Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza: Motion (25 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: It is important to acknowledge that what happened on 7 October 2023 was a complete atrocity. What has been done since then by the IDF has quite rightly been designated as a genocide. I have a real issue with the fact that many prescribed terrorist groups around the world quite easily achieve the status of being designated a terrorist group when we see what the IDF is doing. That needs to...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Job Losses (24 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: Sula bogaimid ar aghaidh go dtí an Seanadóir Cosgrove, ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh na ndaltaí sa Gallery ó Ballyhaunis Comunity School, County Mayo. They are very welcome here. It is great to see students and their teachers coming in to the Chamber and witnessing politics in action. Go raibh míle maith agaibh as teacht isteach inniu.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Family Reunification (24 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: Before I thank the Minister of State and Senators for their contributions, I welcome to the Gallery Deputy Cleere and his three special guests, Erin Hoare, Oisín Hennebry and Caroline Morrisey. I reassure the guests that at times I see steam coming out of the ears of Deputy Cleere in the corridors of Leinster House. He has been working extremely hard since he was elected. I will...

Seanad: Mental Health Bill 2024: Second Stage (24 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as an obair ar fad a rinne sí maidir leis an mBille seo. Tuigim go raibh an-chuid oibre déanta roimh an téarma seo nuair nach raibh mé i mo Sheanadóir. Táim an-bhuíoch as an obair atá déanta ag an Aire Stáit. I commend the work the Minister of State has done, both in this term and in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Recruitment and Retention of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: Gabhaim buíochas leis na finnéithe ar fad as ucht na dtaispeántas sin. I thank Mr. Pike and Ms Cockerill for their presentations. They have given a lot of very valuable insight. Data we have gathered suggest that 94% of SNAs in the country are female. Do the witnesses agree with that? Is that the picture they see on the ground?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Recruitment and Retention of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: I was a secondary schoolteacher for the guts of 12 years – 11 and a half years. On one particular occasion, a male student became very distressed. A female SNA was left traumatised with the efforts she had to make to try and comfort the child and look after him. We have a huge issue in the country with that imbalance whereby 94% of SNAs in the country are female. I will direct the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Recruitment and Retention of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: I thank Ms Cockerill. On the topic of menial labour and the demeaning roles that have, at times, been passed down to SNAs, I agree that we need more training and higher skills attainment among SNAs. A good SNA can be incredibly impactful for good in the classroom. I have seen it at first hand. I have been a teacher who, literally, relied on them like a crutch. I have also seen the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Recruitment and Retention of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: That is fair enough.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Recruitment and Retention of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: Offline is fine. I am not asking for a headline or trying to make a public quagmire of this but we need to go to the root source of this and tackle it. No SNA should be out in a school yard cleaning a fish tank while a child who is relying on him or her for help is inside, suffering.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Recruitment and Retention of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: I appreciate that, thanks. I am out of time now but I might come back in a second time later on.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Recruitment and Retention of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: That is fair.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Recruitment and Retention of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: Gabhaim buíochas leis na finnéithe as ucht na dtaispeántas. In relation to courses such as early childhood care and education, ECCE, child studies and other early years education courses, what on-the-job training does the NCSE facilitate so people can go out on school placements to learn their trade while studying their courses?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Recruitment and Retention of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: Yes, potential SNAs who are studying childhood courses of whatever nature that are relevant to the role of an SNA. It could be a level eight degree or something in between. What facilitation is put in place to allow them to train in schools?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Recruitment and Retention of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (24 Sep 2025)

Shane Curley: Does Ms Corcoran think it is good practice that we do not do it right now?