Results 101-120 of 133 for children speaker:Robbie Gallagher

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: ..., Deputy Varadkar, signed regulations that would allow for prescription-only medicines, including asthma-relieving salbutamol, to be administered by trained personnel in an emergency. Today, as our children return to school, not one school has received an asthma-relieving inhaler for their first-aid kits. I spoke to a number of principals recently who have not heard of the scheme or...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jul 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: ...and Skills recently launched a report, which gives a school-by-school breakdown of class sizes for the 2016-2017 academic year, and it makes for grim reading. A total of 120,000 primary school children are in classes of more than 30. On average, almost one in four primary pupils is in a class of more than 30. Among the worst areas in the country are Monaghan, Limerick, Cork, Waterford,...

Seanad: School Transport: Statements (12 Jul 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: ...year as a Senator. When I came back here in September of last year, it was absolute mayhem. I am sure it was the same for every Member of both Houses. There was a lot of confusion among families because children were being left behind. There seemed to be very little co-ordination in respect of the entire set-up. The Minister of State undertook a review of the school transport system...

Seanad: Equality of Access to Education: Motion (12 Jul 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: ...for people just above the income threshold for third level grants. A few months ago a lady from Letterkenny contacted me about the debate on the Cassells report and the funding of third level education. Both she and her husband were working and had three children at college, they were not on the breadline, thankfully, but every single euro they had was going towards their children's...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Scheme: Discussion (11 Jul 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: ...family from County Monaghan have told me that a particular route has been in operation for eight years but that the built environment has changed considerably in that period, meaning that there are more children seeking to use it. What needs to happen for a review of a route to take place? The submission received from the Coach Tourism and Transport Council of Ireland speaks about...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: ...I congratulate everyone involved in the John West Féile Peile na nÓg hosted by counties Cavan, Monaghan and Fermanagh over the weekend. As Members will be aware, it is a club football competition for all children under 14 years of age and more than 6,500 children and their families visited the three counties mentioned. I compliment and congratulate the GAA clubs in the three...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Training and Supports for Providers of Special Needs Education and Education in DEIS Schools: Discussion (27 Jun 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: ...two principals. Some of the problems they highlighted are a sad indictment of the education sector, specifically those who have decisions to make and are tasked with looking after the education of children. Dr. Anne Ryan talked about the co-teaching model. One problem I have is that I constantly hear about young teachers who receive training and then jump on an aeroplane to Dubai or...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: State Pensions (21 Jun 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: ...number of contributions made by a worker, thus making it more difficult to qualify for a full State pension. The changes clearly and unfairly punish women who took time out of work to care for and rear their children. This is because the current generation of pensioners get no benefit from the homemaker's scheme, which allows for top-ups to State pension payments for those taking time...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 May 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: I join my colleagues in expressing my sincere sympathy to the people of Manchester on the terrible happening last evening.Our thoughts and prayers are with them. I wish to raise the issue of children's hospice care. This week is Children's Hospice Week so it is fitting that we should address the issues of funding and planning for children's hospice care in this country. I pay tribute to the...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Mar 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: ...and of two who moved to Monaghan town. The families tramped around both towns trying to find a GP to take them on with no success. The question is where these people are meant to go and what happens if one of their children or if a parent gets sick. We cannot send them to accident and emergency departments as these are overcrowded as it is and we cannot send them to the doctor on call...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: ...enjoyed the contribution about boards of management. We as a society owe a great deal to the parents who serve on boards of management. Without them we would be in a much weaker position. When my children were going to school it was very difficult to get parents to go on boards of management and I am interested if it has become any easier in the period since then. I am aware of...

Seanad: Recent Education Announcements: Statements (21 Feb 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: ...does, when would such a system be in operation? I wish to discuss to the new model of special education to which the Minister referred. I welcome his initiative in this regard. The cuts of up to 15% in resource hours for children with special needs have yet to be redressed. Some confusion surrounds the new model. Many in the education sector are unclear as to what exactly it means for...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Feb 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: ..., do not have access to educational psychologists. It is a shameful statistic. Needless to say, the schools that do not have access to educational psychologists are put at a severe disadvantage. Children with special needs in those schools are being forgotten about. As we know, teachers are not qualified to diagnose children. They need experts to assess children in order that...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Feb 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: ...their feet and taking up these contracts. When a school cannot find a substitute teacher, a number of things happen. A class is divided creating a larger one. This means that the most vulnerable children and those with special needs are the ones to suffer and lose out. I ask the Leader to bring this matter to the attention of the Minister for Education and Skills and ask him to ensure...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Equal Status (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Feb 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: .... As one drives around the boreens of County Monaghan or County Donegal, where I come from, one constantly sees billboards for schools that are having open days. They are encouraging parents and children to come along to those open nights so that the school can display its wares. It is a new and welcome development that has come to light in recent years. Although I do not doubt its...

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: ...are jumping on aeroplanes to travel to Dubai or the UK. It is a very unsatisfactory situation for the Minister to be overseeing. I would like it to be addressed for once and for all so that our children do not lose out.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jan 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: ...in his new home and got heavily involved in all aspects of community life. He was a leading light in the local GAA club. He put down roots there, met his wife, Caroline, and was raising his two young children. Unfortunately, that is where the story ends. Today, I make a special appeal to anyone out there who may have information on this brutal killing, as a result of which his wife...

Seanad: Junior Cycle Reform: Motion (25 Jan 2017)

Robbie Gallagher: ...the need to maintain history as a core subject under the junior certificate reforms. Let us hope that history will continue to be essential to the three year curriculum and that it will be taken by as many children as possible. The small percentage of students - I understand it is between 5% and 8% - who do not take up history should be encouraged to undertake some form of short history...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: ...have told me how much the students enjoyed the presence and involvement of the Defence Forces when they visited their schools. It brought an important and serious ceremonial dimension to events. Children, many of whom had never met Defence Forces personnel previously, were enthralled and impressed by their visitors. We should also recall the vital and necessary functions carried out by...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Teacher Exchange Scheme (30 Nov 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: ...area to which they have relocated. Some may find that their circumstances change and they may wish to remain in the exchange school. After a five-year period, some will have met a partner, settled down, had children and become embedded in the exchange school community. The schools, by extension, are also pleased to retain a teacher who has become an integral part of the school's staff...