Results 10,961-10,980 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Written Answers — Grant Aid: Grant Aid (4 May 2005)

Damien English: Question 62: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she will increase the level of grant aid available to farmers under the SFP scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14020/05]

Written Answers — Teagasc Service Development: Teagasc Service Development (4 May 2005)

Damien English: Question 122: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the plans she has to develop the Teagasc service provided to farmers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14004/05]

Leaders' Questions. (4 May 2005)

Damien English: Have they moved since?

Leaders' Questions. (4 May 2005)

Damien English: That is not actually the truth.

Leaders' Questions. (4 May 2005)

Damien English: It is not on.

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (28 Apr 2005)

Damien English: Question 62: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the situation in Sudan; the humanitarian assistance that is being made available to the affected regions in that country; the security assistance that will be made available by Ireland to Sudan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13478/05]

Written Answers — Official Travel: Official Travel (28 Apr 2005)

Damien English: Question 40: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his travel plans for the coming six month period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13512/05]

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage (Resumed). (28 Apr 2005)

Damien English: As Deputy Naughten says this issue must be considered and cannot be left to one side. If we return in two or three years' time with unanswered questions we will have learnt nothing from this debate. The argument could not have been better put than as Deputy Naughten put it. There are few occasions on which I speak on matters of great shame to this House and to the country. I join all those...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (27 Apr 2005)

Damien English: Question 112: To ask the Minister for Finance if he has satisfied himself with the provisions for dealing with overpayment of taxation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13302/05]

Written Answers — Literacy Levels: Literacy Levels (26 Apr 2005)

Damien English: Question 64: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the percentage of young persons leaving secondary school with literacy difficulties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12975/05]

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Damien English: I wish to share time with Deputies Deenihan, McGrath and Lynch. We in Fine Gael are delighted to support the Labour Party motion on this subject. I look forward to the day when a Government will finally agree with a motion. It is obvious that we are failing with regard to education. The Government is trying to deflect attention from it, condemn our motion and insert its amendment. This...

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Damien English: The GDP figure is well down on that of 1996, while the GNP is level with that of 1996 and 1997. Deputies should look at the figures. If Fianna Fáil wishes to quote figures, we will match them. I have asked every Minister to compare the 1997 figures with those of today. I was in school in 1997. It is a different era now, we have moved on and our population has grown. The Minister quoted...

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Damien English: They have transformed very slowly and we are failing. The school mentioned does not have a new building, on the contrary, it is falling apart. I would like to make a few quick points before I deal with the main speech by the Minister. I am surprised to hear the Minister encouraging multi-grade classes. She condemns school principals for not attempting to mix classes.

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Damien English: The Minister more or less said it in her speech. She said that principals and teachers were distorting the figures by not having mixed classes.

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Damien English: Mixing classes is not the solution to large class sizes. I have been in multi-grade classes and they are not the answer. I was sufficiently lucky to survive a multi-grade class. Many of the other children in my class might not have been as lucky.

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Damien English: I am not suggesting that but we should not use them as a solution.

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Damien English: The Minister spoke about making arrangements in developing areas and that she could not predict the figures. For four and a half years, myself and colleagues from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil campaigned for a new school in an area in Navan that we knew needed one. Four and a half years later, that school is still in temporary accommodation. We could identify the figures but the Department of...

Class Sizes: Motion. (26 Apr 2005)

Damien English: The Minister said the Department was taking additional measures to cope with developing areas. There are schools in developing areas that cannot be told now where they are going in September. Is this an example of additional measures? When Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats sat down to hammer out a programme for Government after the general election, they made many specific promises...

Written Answers — Pharmacy Regulations: Pharmacy Regulations (20 Apr 2005)

Damien English: Question 88: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason he decided to refer proposals on the reform of the pharmacy sector to the Competition Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12073/05]

Written Answers — Anti-Poverty Strategy. : Anti-Poverty Strategy. (19 Apr 2005)

Damien English: Question 104: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if his Department is on target to achieve its NAP-inclusion target of setting child benefit and child dependant allowance at between 33% and 35% of the minimum adult social welfare payment by 2007, as outlined in the national action plan against poverty and social exclusion (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on...