Results 10,801-10,820 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Leaders' Questions (12 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Government will soon announce a comprehensive programme called, Pathways to Work, which will address many of the issues to which the Deputy referred. Taking Ulster Bank as an example, somebody from that institution will have his or her skill sets assessed and options will be offered as to how he or she might upgrade his or her skills or divert sideways to improve his or her skills and...

Leaders' Questions (12 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank the Deputy for her question but, unfortunately, I must remind her that this country has lost its economic sovereignty. We are not in business as usual and when it was business as usual it was mad business. The construction sector to which she referred represented 25% of economic activity in the Republic. That was twice the normal requirement in a growing economy. As an adjunct to...

Leaders' Questions (12 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I do not know if Deputy McDonald was listening to the reply I offered to Deputy Ó Cuív-----

Leaders' Questions (12 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Then I have already answered the Deputy's question. The workers will not get new jobs in the banking sector. Those who have IT skills that can be refocused into other areas in which there are opportunities, as Barry O'Leary from the IDA has said, will hopefully find opportunities. I wish to respond to a comment made by Deputy McDonald about the madness of the building speculation affecting...

Leaders' Questions (12 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: To answer the Deputy's specific question - I am responding to the point she made - the labour movement, both the Labour Party and the trade union movement, believe it is the responsibility of trade unions in the first instance to represent the rights of workers and to do so directly with their employers. To the best of my knowledge, the Ulster Bank has conducted its negotiations rightly and...

Leaders' Questions (12 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: If I may remind the Deputy, like himself, I, too, represent a constituency with an inner-city core with a high level of disadvantage. Over my time in Dublin South-East I have seen intergenerational poverty when dealing with the grandchildren of people I first dealt with many decades ago. I agree education is the great liberator. I would not be in this Chamber if it were not for the chance...

Leaders' Questions (12 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Deputy Finian McGrath is a teacher and I will respond to him by saying that the logic of applying additional resources to any endeavour, particularly in the area of education, is that in order to justify the application of those additional resources, one must measure the consequences of those inputs to see the benefit. The three reports being published today, one by the Educational Research...

Leaders' Questions (12 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy should listen to what he said: "I warn you there will be serious consequences."

Leaders' Questions (12 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I have examined this matter very closely, having drilled down deep, so to speak, and into all sectors of the education system-----

Leaders' Questions (12 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Perhaps it was the tone of the remarks. We want a debate that is passionate but also compassionate as regards what we are trying to achieve collectively in this House.

Order of Business (12 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: It is proposed to take No. 8a, Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad] - allocation of time motion for select sub-committee; No. 12, Patents (Amendment) Bill 2011 - Order for Report, Report and Final Stages; and No. 4, Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Bill 2011 - Second Stage (resumed). It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders and notwithstanding the...

Private Members' Business, Special Educational Needs: Motion (11 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I move amendment No. 2: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: -acknowledges that the plans set out by the Government in Budget 2012 form an important step in returning Ireland's economy to a sound footing and regaining our economic sovereignty; -recalls the pioneering measures first taken in 1996 by the then Fine Gael-Labour Party Government by the...

Private Members' Business, Special Educational Needs: Motion (11 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The education allocation for current expenditure in 2012, including from the national training fund, will be €8.604 billion. This represents approximately 17% of all current expenditure this year. Savings measures announced in the budget will provide net savings of €76 million in 2012, increasing to €241 million in 2014. Achieving savings in my Department's budget has required very...

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (11 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The terms of the redundancy arrangements for Special Needs Assistants are outlined in my Department's circular 58/2006. A copy of the Circular is below for the information of the Deputy. The terms of the redundancy arrangements as outlined were agreed at the Labour Relations Commission. These arrangements provide that SNAs in primary and second level schools in approved posts with more than...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (11 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The current authorised permanent staffing complement for the Teaching Council is 28.5. The Teaching Council has submitted a request for further staff which it considers necessary to carry out its functions. This request is under consideration at present, and my Department is in ongoing communication with both the Teaching Council and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform regarding...

Written Answers — Irish Language: Irish Language (11 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy was informed previously in September, 2011 my Department has given some consideration to consolidating and updating the departmental circulars which deal with exemptions from the study of Irish in recognised primary (12/96) and post-primary schools (M10/94). My Department has established an expert working group to review the current Irish exemptions circulars. The working group...

Written Answers — School Patronage: School Patronage (11 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 136 and 138 together. I refer the Deputy to the decision of the previous Government to remove certain funding from Protestant fee-charging schools in the Budget of October 2008. The previous Government also decided at that time make changes to how fee-charging schools should be treated in relation to the number of publicly funded teaching posts they are...

Written Answers — School Patronage: School Patronage (11 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: In recognition of the increasing diversity of the school-going population and in order to improve the capacity of the school system to cater for that diversity, the measures I have undertaken since my appointment as Minister for Education and Skills include: The Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector - a key objective of the Programme for a National Government 2011 - 2016, was...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (11 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that the Health Service Executive is responsible for the provision of health supports including Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy to children. In some instances such therapy services are delivered in schools. An integrated approach is adopted by the education and health sectors to target resources to the areas of greatest need and to integrate...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (11 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: As part of the Budget 2012 decisions that have been announced, the Modern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative will be cease at the end of the 2011/2012 school year. The €2.5million in savings from this measure will go towards the cost of implementing the new National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, which is a key commitment in the Programme for Government. Since becoming Minister for...