Results 1-20 of 1,021,693 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Ciarán Cuffe OR speaker:Joan Collins OR speaker:James Lawless OR speaker:Thomas Pringle) in 'Committee meetings'

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (14 May 2024)

Thomas Pringle: I thank Mr. Ó Luain and everybody else for their contributions. I have a couple of questions. Obviously, the model we have in Ireland for student workers does not work. Do the witnesses have an idea of a model that works in advance for people to prepare themselves for coming here? If so, can they explain what it is?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (14 May 2024)

Thomas Pringle: So, under the Canadian model, or if we had a similar type of model here, you could apply for your PPS number and all that before getting here, and it would be here waiting for you. When you come in now, you spend months waiting and waiting for those to arrive. That is a problem.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (14 May 2024)

Thomas Pringle: Earlier, Mr. Ó Luain spoke about the agents and so on. Just so I understand it, is it the case that schools give the role of dealing with the students over to the agencies and that there is no legal basis for this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (14 May 2024)

Thomas Pringle: There is no follow-up. Nobody who oversees the whole situation and identifies that agencies are wrong and should not be there. There is no Department that is responsible.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (14 May 2024)

Thomas Pringle: I thank our guests for presenting their evidence. I will ask a couple of questions. EEA students have the ability to work at any time of the day or night while in Ireland in order to support their studies, but students from outside the EEA are restricted to morning or afternoon work. While the witnesses are not the ones who decide this, what are their views on the matter? Should students...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (14 May 2024)

Thomas Pringle: The MEI has no problem with a change.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (14 May 2024)

Thomas Pringle: Earlier, we heard about the use of agents to collect fees. How does Mr. O'Shea view the use of agents? Does he recommend agents to MEI members? Could the use of agents cause problems for students?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (14 May 2024)

Thomas Pringle: When will the IEM be implemented?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (14 May 2024)

Thomas Pringle: Earlier, we heard from ELSU about a meeting that it and the MEI had with the Minister at the time - the current Taoiseach. It was explained to him that the schools were going to reopen after Covid with existing students. When they did reopen, however, new students were mixed in existing students. Was that good practice? Did it happen?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (14 May 2024)

Thomas Pringle: So new students were not recruited at that time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (14 May 2024)

Thomas Pringle: Earlier we heard about the discussions between SIPTU, Unite the union and MEI on remuneration for teachers, etc. How is that coming along and when is it likely it will be completed?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Regulation of the English Language Sector: Discussion (14 May 2024)

Thomas Pringle: Is that in the next couple of months or the next couple of years?

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Community Employment Schemes (9 May 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the official response but he really cut to the chase in his closing comments. I have no issue with the welfare partners portal. Indeed, community employment scheme supervisors recognise it as a top-class piece of kit. The reality, however, is that a serious situation is evolving. There is an eminently sensible situation to the problem, which is...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Community Employment Schemes (9 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I am aware of Abbeyshrule and the improvements that were made there through the community employment scheme. It is well known around the country. I appreciate the benefits of community employment schemes. I will take the specific issues the Deputy raised to the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, to see whether he has any specific knowledge of them. He may engage directly with the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Community Employment Schemes (9 May 2024)

Cuireadh an Dáil ar athló ar 6.46 p.m. go dtí 2 p.m., Dé Máirt, an 14 Bealtaine 2024. The Dáil adjourned at 6.46 p.m. until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 14 May 2024.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Medicinal Products (9 May 2024)

Violet-Anne Wynne: I thank the Minister of State for the new statistics showing that 362 licences have been issued, which is very positive. Recently a patient reached out to me who had applied for a ministerial licence. The Minister for Health will be very familiar with this case because I submitted a number of parliamentary questions on the matter. What has come to light is that because the consultant is...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Medicinal Products (9 May 2024)

Mary Butler: As I stated earlier, the Department is currently establishing a clinical review group to review the publication to make recommendations to the Minister for Health. In response to an oral parliamentary question last week, he stated that he would be open to any expansion, if recommended, but that he would be entirely led by the clinicians in the group. The Deputy spoke about a specific...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Community Employment Schemes (9 May 2024)

Community Employment Schemes

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Community Employment Schemes (9 May 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I appreciate the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, standing in for the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, who is unavoidably absent this evening but I ask that the senior Minister would respond to me directly in the fullness of time on the important points I will raise. She, like the Minister of State, is passionate about rural Ireland and appreciates more than most the huge...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Community Employment Schemes (9 May 2024)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputy for his questions. I listened carefully to the points he made. I will now read the formal response from the Minister for Social Protection before discussing the matter further. It is important to acknowledge the excellent work that is done on the full range of work schemes, including community employment, Tús, the rural social scheme, RSS and the job initiative...