Results 1,481-1,500 of 3,978 for speaker:Sorca Clarke

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students: Discussion (23 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: I welcome Mr. Geary. I do not intend to use our five minutes just with myself speaking. I want to ask two very specific questions because I think it is important that Mr. Geary's voice, the voice of his family and the voice of Calum are heard. I hope Calum is doing well. I understand he is at Bishopstown Community School. I hope he is enjoying his time, making lots of new friends and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students: Discussion (23 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: On my first question, when Mr. Geary's family first came to be in this situation of needing sign language and knew this was going to be embedded in the family from that day forward, what supports were offered to them at that time? Was it whole-of-family support? Was it a very slow process? What does Mr. Geary want implemented so other families do not end up in the same situation? ...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students: Discussion (23 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: Am I correct in saying that if there is a lack of capability, resources or knowledge in a family as to where to go to seek the additional support available in the various non-governmental sectors, that family is then at a further disadvantage to another family who needs the support?

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Services (23 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: 743. To ask the Minister for Health if he is aware of hospitals not accepting referrals for patients who availed of the cross-border initiative for treatment, despite HSE guidelines which assure patients that should complications arise they have the right "to access the Irish health care system to put it right"; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24197/23]

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: No engaging in any amount of misinformation is going to put a headstone on the grave of that woman's husband. This is a simple fact. Equally, it will not put money in the bank account of people like that other lady in Dublin who has a colossal gas bill. The Minister mentioned child benefit and this aspect will be welcomed by all parents because they already have the bills these funds will...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: Nothing.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: Will this be the same as retail companies?-

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: The cost-of-living crisis is pushing households to the brink. Price hike after price hike has workers and families to the pin of their collars, with no sign of the spiralling costs coming down. It is plain to see that people cannot afford Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in government any longer. People are at their wits' end. Rents are soaring, mortgage interest rates are rocketing and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Textbooks (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: The Minister had two minutes to answer, but she only spent about 15 seconds addressing the question, which was about the process. What was the basis of assessment, what benchmarking was done, what market research was carried out and what costings were done? I hear what the Minister said regarding the three-year pilot and a range of data, but what I am looking for is the actual range of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Textbooks (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: The Minister spoke about the three-year pilot programme and that information on same is available on the Department's website. That information makes clear reference to classroom resources, which goes beyond schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks. It specifically mentions that the money is not for swimming lessons, for example. Of the range of data compiled and correlated over the three...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Textbooks (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: 58. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the process her Department engaged in to determine the level of the schoolbook grant for 2023. [22508/23]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Textbooks (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: At the end of March, the Minister announced the primary and special schools schoolbooks grant. Can she give us details on the processes that her Department engaged in to determine the decided-upon level of the schoolbook grant for 2023 at a rate per capita of €96?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Costs (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: Is the Minister aware that the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has commissioned Grant Thornton to conduct a survey to identify the current gaps in funding for all categories of post-primary schools? Last August, the organisation received 30 calls per hour from desperate parents. Fast forward to this year and schools and those in charge of their administration are finding it increasingly...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Costs (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: 55. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the engagement her Department has had with schools regarding the payment of voluntary contributions by parents. [22506/23]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Costs (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: Every year, parents are asked and sometimes demands are made of them for voluntary contributions, as schools try to bridge the gap between education grants and outgoings. Given the cost-of-living crisis that has gripped this State, what engagement has the Minister's Department had with schools regarding the payment of voluntary contributions by parents?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Costs (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: Where is a school meant to go when there is a shortfall between funding from the Department and its outgoings? There are two givens every year when it comes to back-to-school conversations among parents. One is the ironic statement that we have free education and the other is the equally ironic so-called voluntary contributions. It is ironic because in reality we know that they are neither...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: I think we can all agree that the scenes last year of desperate parents begging and pleading for their child to have access to what is a very basic right, namely, a school place, was utterly disgraceful. In my constituency, parents whose children had autism took to the streets with placards in desperation. Athlone Community College then had an additional class opened to accommodate six...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: I am well aware of what exists in my constituency. I am also well aware of the experiences parents are continuing to have. I referenced the Ombudsman for Children's report last year. Today we read that of the 1,812 complaints to that office in 2022, education accounted for 30%. The report specifically references the many barriers children are facing in education, and special education in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: 53. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the engagement her Department has had with the relevant stakeholders and the additional steps that will be taken this year to ensure that all children with special educational needs have an appropriate school place this September. [22505/23]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (16 May 2023)

Sorca Clarke: Last June, a report by the Ombudsman for Children's office stated that it was his view that any failure to include children with special educational needs, SEN, within the mainstream school system for any reason other than to facilitate their effect education constitutes discrimination. What engagement has the Department had with relevant stakeholders and what additional steps will be taken...