Results 121-140 of 2,126 for speaker:Joe O'Brien

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Revised) (7 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I think there are two in Galway and one in Meath but I am open to correction on that.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Revised) (7 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: There has been a rolling of the current contracts to make sure there is no gap. It involves Meath, Mayo islands, Galway east, Galway west and Galway islands so we have a bit to work through there but no area is left without SICAP in the interim.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Revised) (7 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: The Deputy will appreciate that I cannot say too much about an ongoing issue.

Report of Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands: Motion (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the committee for its leadership on this. I agree with Deputy O'Rourke's point that other committees need to follow suit. It is not really an option for them; they need to do it. It is part of their job. I therefore appeal to all the other committees to do a similar analysis and a similar report and have a debate similar to that which we are having today. Again, I acknowledge the...

Report of Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands: Motion (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. I thank the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands for its report on the progress being made on the SDGs. Achievement of the SDGs is essential if we are to ensure a sustainable future for all. They address the global and local challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change,...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Ceann Comhairle. Before I address the specific issues raised by the Deputy, I will provide an outline of the extent of the school transport system. The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, more than 161,600 children, including over 135,000 pupils, travelling on...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I hope the situation for those young people in Pallaskenry will be resolved soon. It is clear the Department is engaging with them. I agree on the need for an integrated system and with the point the Deputy made about school buses doing their drop and then doing a return journey without passengers. That is certainly not efficient, in a variety of ways. Other Departments are also...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Schools Building Projects (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity, on behalf of the Department of Education, to outline to the Dáil the current position in relation to the large-scale capital building projects for Holy Family Community School, Rathcoole, and the Clondalkin schools campus. The projects are included in the Department's construction programme which will be...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Schools Building Projects (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Under Project Ireland 2040, the Department of Education is investing well in excess of €5 billion over the period 2021-25 to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities across the country for the almost 1 million students and over 100,000 staff who learn and work in our schools every day. The Department of Education has a strong track record of delivery of school building...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Schools Building Projects (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I am happy to do that. I have only updates on two schools in my information here.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Post Office Network (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I welcome the opportunity to outline the position on this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and Minister of State, Deputy Chambers. An Post is a commercial State company with a mandate to act commercially and, as such, day-to-day operational matters, including decisions in relation to the size, distribution and future of the network, are matters for the board and...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Post Office Network (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I appreciate the Deputy's passionate advocacy for the retention of the situation with the post office in Roscommon town. I reiterate that An Post has outlined that its change in business model of the six offices I have mentioned, including Roscommon, will not in any way change the range or extent of the services offered by An Post in those selected locations. The company remains committed...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Dental Services (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to address the issue of participation of dentists in the dental treatment services scheme in County Galway. The dental treatment services scheme, DTSS, provides dental care free of charge to medical card holders aged 16 and over. Services available annually and on demand include an examination, including preventative advice, two fillings, emergency...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Dental Services (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: The Minister has made substantial additional investments in oral healthcare services in recent years, but I take the Deputy's point about the lived reality he outlined, especially regarding people with intellectual disabilities trying to negotiate complex administrative systems which are not always very user friendly. I will certainly take that point back to the Minister. I will also ask...

Seanad: Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad: International Protection (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I first want to apologise to the House for my delay this morning. There was an unexpected event that I did not plan for, so I apologise to everyone for the delay that has caused. I thank Senator Crowe for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. As the Senator will be aware, the international protection system is currently undergoing a...

Seanad: Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad: International Protection (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: The Department has made significant investment in staff, technology and re-engineering processes at the IPO and that investment is delivering. Over the course of the past year, we tripled the number of monthly decisions for processing times for applicants from safe countries, reduced under ten weeks, with numbers arriving from them dropping considerably, too. To my own knowledge, when...

Seanad: Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad: Health Promotion (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Senator for raising this genuinely very important issue. The Government is committed to supporting positive ageing across the life course, as well as ensuring that older people can continue to live independently in their homes and communities for as long as possible. This commitment is enshrined in the national positive ageing strategy, which provides a blueprint for promoting...

Seanad: Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad: Health Promotion (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I acknowledge that tremendous work is being done across the country to ensure communities are fully inclusive of our older citizens. The older people’s councils that have been established in every local authority by Age Friendly Ireland to ensure that older people have a voice in local decision-making, the Senior Citizens Parliament and the national network of Active Retirement...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Development Projects (30 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for his question. My Department’s mission is to promote rural and community development and support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland. The underlying basis for all funding delivered through my Department's community development programmes is to enable communities to identify and address their own needs in this context. In effect,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Development Projects (30 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Decisions on particular allocations for the community animation aspect of SICAP are rolled out to the local development companies. Based on the need presenting to them, they will decide what level of worker should be involved. It is the individual community worker who is engaged under SICAP. The programme is responsive in that sense. There is no set, defined allocation by central...