Results 441-460 of 1,047,652 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Máiría Cahill OR speaker:Catherine Murphy OR speaker:Norma Foley OR speaker:Mary Lou McDonald)

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (11 Jul 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Will the Minister of State outline the actions she has taken to ensure deaf and hard of hearing students can reach their full academic potential?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (11 Jul 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: My Department, directly and through the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, provides a range of supports in schools for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. This includes additional teachers, specialist equipment and access to SNA support, depending on the child's level of assessed needs. In Ireland, we have two established schools for the deaf. They are Holy Family School...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (11 Jul 2024)

Mairead Farrell: My understanding is that deaf and hard-of-hearing children are getting less support than before under the new SET model. Guidelines for 2024-25 allocate virtually all hours to children who are at the lowest levels in standardised tests. This means the Department now interprets educational needs solely on low scores, without reference to ability or potential. Deaf or hard-of-hearing...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (11 Jul 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: On visiting teachers, in recent years resource restrictions and associated high caseloads have impacted on the time visiting teachers have per student. However, we are turning a corner in relation to that. For example, the recent deployment of two visiting teachers for the deaf or hard-of-hearing in Dublin has led to a decrease in caseloads in the area of up to 40% in some cases. This...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (11 Jul 2024)

Mairead Farrell: I will pass that on to my colleague, Sorca Clarke. Phase 1 of the scheme for ISL classroom assistants and school advisers was first announced on 2 March 2022 and an implementation plan announced in November 2022. Advocates believe only a fraction of the envisaged 40 posts in phase 1 have been filled to date and the narrow medical criteria are a barrier to many children getting the support...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (11 Jul 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: The two new roles support the work of the class teachers and complement other teaching and care support provided for targeted students. They will play a pivotal role into the future. As the Deputy said, the positions were originally advertised by the NCSE in 2022. However, there was a poor response to the recruitment campaign and only two advisers and specialist classroom support personnel...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Funding (11 Jul 2024)

School Funding

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Funding (11 Jul 2024)

Seán Canney: 62. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she intends to increase core funding for primary schools and special schools to ensure that these schools meet their operational costs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27214/24]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Funding (11 Jul 2024)

Seán Canney: It is a simple enough question. Does the Minister for Education intend to increase core funding for primary schools and special schools to ensure they can meet operational costs?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Funding (11 Jul 2024)

Norma Foley: The Department’s voted estimate for capital and current expenditure for 2024 stands at €10.9 billion. This represents an increase of over €2.8 billion or 35% since 2019, which is significant. This is the third largest budget across government, and the largest ever investment in our schools. It indicates the strong commitment to investment in education by this...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Grant Payments (11 Jul 2024)

Peter Burke: We currently have €230 million transferred to the local authority sector and that will cover the first and second rounds. Once that is disbursed, there will be a small enough buffer left over and, at that stage, we will assess what we can do with it. My focus is that any money that is voted by this House in the budget will be spent by my Department this year, and I am very clear on...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Grant Payments (11 Jul 2024)

Joe Flaherty: I would give a word of caution and perhaps a word of warning. As we came out of Covid, many businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises in retail and hospitality, became somewhat dependent on supports and this continued through the ICOB scheme. I am sure this has been fed into the budgeting process. It is critical that we have a commitment in the budget to ensure the supports...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Grant Payments (11 Jul 2024)

Peter Burke: We will do our very best to have a strong budget for businesses. That is central to what we are doing in the Department. The benefits of our SME package are now being felt across the country. The reduced rate of PRSI will take effect from 1 October for workers on the national minimum wage. That process will be linked directly to the Low Pay Commission to ensure that minimum wage workers...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Grant Payments (11 Jul 2024)

Question No. 13 taken with Written Answers.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (11 Jul 2024)

Renewable Energy Generation

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (11 Jul 2024)

David Stanton: 15. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to report on developments pertaining to the Powering Prosperity strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30285/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (11 Jul 2024)

David Stanton: It seems the Opposition has abandoned the Dáil, which is strange. When we were in opposition, we never gave up and always had someone here. That is another story. With respect to Powering Prosperity, does he agree that it depends on infrastructure and on having ports with planning permission that are able to expand? That needs money. For example, the Port of Cork needs to expand...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (11 Jul 2024)

Dara Calleary: We have had a lot of discussion on Powering Prosperity to date and I welcome the Dáil’s interest in it. I acknowledge the Deputy’s work in this space through the joint Oireachtas committee. In terms of infrastructure, that is obviously a matter for the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, but we will continue to work closely with it to ensure that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (11 Jul 2024)

David Stanton: Powering Prosperity is a fantastic policy document and I commended the Minister on it when he was before the Oireachtas committee last week, as well as the people who put it together. However, it is going to be diluted unless the port infrastructure is expanded. Without having a place to do a thing, you cannot do the thing. We cannot assemble the turbines, maintain them or service them if...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (11 Jul 2024)

Dara Calleary: I endorse everything the Deputy has said with regard to the Port of Cork. It has applied for funding under the 2023 call on the EU's Connecting Europe Facility fund. The Department of Transport worked closely with it on that application. That would give it up to 30% of the cost of infrastructure investment works in this space. A decision on that will be announced this month. We will...