Results 321-340 of 623 for speaker:Síle de Valera

Seanad: Youth Affairs: Statements. (6 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: I can do that in my closing remarks.

Seanad: Youth Affairs: Statements. (6 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: No, I will do so in my closing remarks following the debate, if the Chair allows.

Seanad: Youth Affairs: Statements. (6 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: Of course.

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (6 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: I propose to take Questions Nos. 356 and 401 to 403, inclusive, together. Bus Éireann is responsible for the day to day operation of the school transport service on behalf of my Department. Over 135,000 children are carried on school transport services each day to primary and post-primary schools including approximately 8,000 children with special educational needs. The cost of transporting...

Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (6 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: The post of an assessor of youth work was advertised in the national press in December 2005 by the Public Appointments Service on behalf of my Department. A total of 15 applications for the post were received and a selection and interview process has taken place recently. The Public Appointments Service is currently finalising various details and procedures relating to the appointment of the...

Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (6 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: The national youth work development plan, prepared by the national youth work advisory committee, NYWAC, recommends the establishment of a youth work development unit. As announced in November 2005, the unit is being established by my Department on a pilot basis within the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. Further details, including the terms of reference, resourcing, etc., are under...

Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (6 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: I propose to take Questions Nos. 362 and 363 together. While the youth affairs section of my Department provides grant-in-aid to the National Youth Council of Ireland, the details of its programme of work are a matter for the organisation itself. My Department has been in contact with the National Youth Council which will provide the required information directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Educational Disadvantage: Educational Disadvantage (6 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: I expect to receive shortly a report with recommendations for a Traveller education strategy. This report spans the full spectrum of lifelong learning from pre-school to adult and further education. The report emphasises the important role that Traveller parents have in their own education and that of their children. Inclusion is a core principle which has guided the development of the...

Written Answers — Adult Education: Adult Education (5 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: I propose to take Questions Nos. 42, 79 and 83 together. Government commitment to the PLC sector, by reference to the resources applied in teachers' pay, non-pay running costs, student support and certification costs, is very significant. We have increased the number of PLC places by 60% since 1996-97. Indeed, the number of PLC places approved for 2005-06 is up by more than 1,600 on the...

Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (5 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the total budgetary provision for youth work purposes within my Department amounts to €47.037 million in 2006, an increase of almost 15% on the 2005 allocation. In addition to meeting existing funding commitments for long-established schemes, the following priority areas will be supported in 2006: a structure for the resourcing of VECs to carry out...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (5 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: In addition to the vehicles hired in by Bus Éireann from the private sector to address the capacity shortfall arising from the phasing out of the three for two seating arrangement on school buses, a programme for Bus Éireann to acquire a number of new and modern second-hand buses, also to address this issue, is well advanced. Fifty-one modern second-hand buses have been purchased and...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (5 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: There are currently over 3,200 vehicles in use each day providing school transport services on behalf of my Department under the school transport scheme. This fleet is made up of Bus Éireann school buses and contractors' vehicles. The bulk of this fleet comprises of minibuses provided by contractors, while most large buses are provided by Bus Éireann. Since 2000, Bus Éireann has spent...

Written Answers — Adult Education: Adult Education (5 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: Government commitment to the PLC sector, by reference to the resources applied in teachers' pay, non-pay running costs, student support and certification costs, is very significant. The Government's support for this hugely important sector is clear from the fact that we have increased the number of PLC places by 60% since 1996-97. The number of PLC places approved for 2005-06 is up by more...

Written Answers — Literacy Levels: Literacy Levels (5 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: No international comparative surveys of adult literacy levels have been carried out in the last ten years. However, a major priority has been given by the Government to improving adult literacy rates nationally. The White Paper on Adult Education, Learning for Life, published in 2000, identifies adult literacy as the top priority in adult education. Since 1997, funding from my Department for...

Written Answers — Early School Leavers: Early School Leavers (5 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: As the Deputy will be aware early school leaving is a complex problem, and so my Department has a multifaceted strategy in place both to improve participation rates and outcomes in schools in the first instance and to provide second chance education and training to young people who have left school early. The Youthreach programme involves a mix of general education, vocational training and...

Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (5 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: The national youth work development plan identifies four main goals and proposes some 50 action points to achieve these goals over a five-year period. Some €2.12 million has been spent on the plan since its launch in 2003. To date a number of priority action areas have been addressed. In 2003, €80,000 was spent on the implementation of a child protection training programme for the sector....

Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (5 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: The report of the task force on student behaviour in second-level schools published recently made a number of recommendations one of which was the expansion of the existing youth encounter projects and the group referred to in the Deputy's question. This expansion of existing services was recommended instead of putting in place a new service of out of school provision. My Department currently...

Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (5 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: The national youth work development plan identifies four main goals and proposes some 50 action points to achieve these goals over a five year period. Some €2.12 million has been spent on the plan since its launch in 2003. To date a number of priority action areas have been addressed. In 2003, €80,000 was spent on the implementation of a child protection training programme for the sector....

Written Answers — Interdepartmental Co-ordination: Interdepartmental Co-ordination (5 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: There is regular contact and co-ordination between my Department and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with regard to work-based learning initiatives, the identification of skills needs and the formulation of appropriate responses to these needs. This co-ordination is achieved through regular interaction between officials in a number of fora and on a day-to-day basis. The...

Written Answers — Adult Education: Adult Education (5 Apr 2006)

Síle de Valera: The task force on lifelong learning was established by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, in collaboration with the Department of Education and Science, and reported in 2002. A total of eight Departments with responsibilities for education, sectoral training, welfare and social and community development policies were represented on the task force, as well as education,...