Results 1,861-1,880 of 3,797 for speaker:Ciarán Cannon

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: 2014 Pre-Budget Submission: Department of Education and Skills (17 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: It is causing problems in a small number of areas. While school transport is a service provided by the State, the ultimate decision for parents on which school to send their children rests with parents themselves. If they determine that loyalty to the parish is so important to them, then they have the choice of transporting the children to their parish school, even though it may not be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: 2014 Pre-Budget Submission: Department of Education and Skills (17 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: It is down to about €155 million or €160 million per year. It costs around €1,000 per annum per child and about €6,000 for a special needs child. The charge that we are making represents only a tiny percentage of the actual real costs to the State of the transport scheme.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: 2014 Pre-Budget Submission: Department of Education and Skills (17 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: We have. An appeals system has been in place for many years.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: 2014 Pre-Budget Submission: Department of Education and Skills (17 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: The appeals process in place at the moment is to determine whether Bus Éireann is operating a scheme in accordance with the criteria laid down by the Department. If a family considers it is being hard done by or incorrectly treated by Bus Éireann, it can appeal it and those appeals can be successful. There is an independent appeals board.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: 2014 Pre-Budget Submission: Department of Education and Skills (17 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: It probably would not. We are looking at reviewing that appeals process to see if we can factor in the situation raised by the Deputy to some degree. There is a rule called the full school rule, where if a school determines that it is full and cannot take in another student, a facility exists to allow children to travel to the next nearest school. We have had one or two instances of that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: 2014 Pre-Budget Submission: Department of Education and Skills (17 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: I am sure the Deputy is aware these changes arise from a value for money report initiated under the previous Minister. The conclusions of that report, which were found to be sane and rational, are now being implemented. The overarching conclusion was that the State should provide transport for children to the school that is nearest to their home, which, irrationally, had not been the case....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: 2014 Pre-Budget Submission: Department of Education and Skills (17 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: No.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Appeals (16 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: The case referred to by the Deputy, in the details supplied, has been the subject of an appeal to the School Transport Appeals Board. This Board is independent of my Department and I understand that the case was considered at their meeting of 20 June. The Board has informed the family directly of their determination on the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (16 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 309 and 310 together. Bus Éireann, which operates school transport services on behalf of my Department, maintains a separate account for the School Transport Scheme. This account is audited each year by independent auditors and accounts in respect of the last number of years are available on my Department's website.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme Numbers (16 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: The Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) provides second chance education and training courses of up to two years duration for people who are 21 years of age or over, and who are at least six months unemployed. People participating in VTOS who are in receipt of Job Seekers Benefit or Job Seekers Allowance receive a payment in lieu of this from the Education and Training Board (ETB)...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (16 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: Under the terms of the Post Primary School Transport Scheme, children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kms from and are attending their nearest education centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language. Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport scheme on behalf of my Department, has advised that the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Post-Leaving Certificate Courses (16 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: Access to Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses for non Irish nationals in the following categories is available under the same conditions as apply to Irish nationals: EU nationals; persons who have refugee status in Ireland – be that convention or programme refugee status; persons in the State as the spouse of an EU national, where the EU national has moved from one country to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards Issues (16 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: Education and Training Boards (ETBs) formerly Vocational Education Committees are already involved in providing hospitality courses as part of their further education programmes. The Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) programme and the Back to Education Initiative (BTEI) offer a number of hospitality courses on a full or part-time basis at levels 3 to 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (16 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: The Category B charge referred to by the Deputy is the charge applicable to children who are eligible for school transport under the terms of my Department's Primary School Transport Scheme. This charge, which was introduced in 2011, was increased in 2012 as part of the budgetary process from €50 to €100 per school year. The charge assists in ensuring that seats provided on...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Medical Card Eligibility (11 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: For the purpose of clarity, while the changes were introduced by the HSE, they were introduced on foot of a decision taken by the Government last December, at the time of the budget, to amend the mechanisms for calculating net income for medical card purposes. On the reference made by the Senator to the commitment made by the Government in the programme for Government to introduce free GP...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (11 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: I was quite confused by that as well. The situation is that if the school has an existing second teacher, it must have that minimum number to retain that teacher. However, if the teacher is lost to the school, it requires substantially more than nine pupils - I cannot recall the exact figure - in order to regain that post. The figure for retention of the teacher and the figure to gain a...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Medical Card Eligibility (11 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for primary care, Deputy Alex White and I thank the Senator for raising it. As the Senator pointed out, changes were made earlier this year to the medical card means test and to the income thresholds for over 70s medical cards. Those changes were made on foot of budget...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (11 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as an deis a thabhairt dom léiriú a thabhairt don Seanad ar an suíomh maidir le foirne i mbunscoileanna agus inár scoileanna oileáin ach go háirithe. Caitheann mo Roinn go cóir agus go cothrom le scoileanna nuair atá acmhainní á leithdháileadh chucu. Déantar é seo ar bhealach...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Eligibility (11 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kms from and are attending their nearest education centre as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language. Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport scheme on behalf of my Department, has advised that...

Seanad: An Bille um an Dara Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Deireadh a Chur le Seanad Éireann) 2013: Céim an Choiste (Atógáil) - Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution (Abolition of Seanad Éireann) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Jul 2013)

Ciarán Cannon: I was listening to Senator Crown on the monitor outside.