Results 1-20 of 1,137,837 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Réada Cronin OR speaker:Simon Coveney OR speaker:Seán Sherlock OR speaker:Denise Mitchell OR speaker:Duncan Smith OR speaker:Fergus O'Dowd OR speaker:Michael Healy-Rae OR speaker:Jackie Cahill OR speaker:Niall Collins OR speaker:Mattie McGrath OR speaker:Michael Creed OR speaker:Pádraig O'Sullivan OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív OR speaker:Mick Barry OR speaker:David Cullinane OR speaker:Dessie Ellis OR speaker:Pauline Tully OR speaker:Paul Donnelly OR speaker:Joe Flaherty OR speaker:Neasa Hourigan OR speaker:Stephen Donnelly OR speaker:Mark Ward OR speaker:Neale Richmond OR speaker:Pat Buckley OR speaker:Norma Foley OR speaker:Bernard Durkan OR speaker:Ruairi Ó Murchú OR speaker:Johnny Mythen OR speaker:Catherine Connolly OR speaker:Cathal Crowe OR speaker:Matt Carthy OR speaker:Richard Bruton OR speaker:Bernard Durkan9 OR speaker:Marc Ó Cathasaigh OR speaker:Emer Higgins OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív1 OR speaker:Jack Chambers OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív5) in 'Committee meetings'

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Apologies have been received from the Cathaoirleach, Deputy Paul Kehoe. I remind members and officials to please ensure mobile phones are switched off for the duration of the meeting as they interfere with broadcasting equipment, even when on silent mode. This meeting has been convened to consider the Supplementary Estimates for Vote 26, education, which has been referred to this committee...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. I begin by wishing the Chairman a speedy recovery. I am pleased to be here this morning together with officials from my Department. I thank the committee for the opportunity to speak with its members and ask for their consideration of the Department's Supplementary Estimates for 2024. Following approval by the Government, the Department is...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: On school secretaries and caretakers, the Deputy will be aware that all school secretaries who were keen to come onto the payroll of the Department of Education have now signed up and crossed over. They are now automatically paid by the Department of Education as distinct from receiving payment from their school board or through grants received by the board. I gave a commitment that a...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: Yes. As regards school transport, a number of recommendations came out of the review of school transport. A phased implementation of the review has begun, and that includes the pilot projects. We have funding in place to continue the pilot projects and add to them. Our ambition is, as we have outlined previously to this committee, to ensure that by 2030 we will have a further 100,000...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: Mr. Loftus is very keen to cover that one.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: If I might interrupt, officials cannot address select committee meetings. I apologise. I ask the Minister to address the matter.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: I was giving the committee the opportunity to hear from the head of planning and building. The subhead is used to fund school accommodation. This is A15: to buy sites, deliver smaller scale works in schools, provide furniture and equipment and address remediation works. The current allocation subhead provides for grants towards rental of temporary school premises at primary and...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: We are well over time. Does the Deputy want to ask a very short supplementary question?

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: By infrastructure, we mean school buildings, really, specifically the project roll-out of those school buildings. I am very happy to come back-----

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: The Minister might be able to come back to the Deputy with a detailed breakdown.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: Yes, absolutely.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: We have a forward planning unit within the Department and it is very successful. We now liaise with local authorities, for example, on their future projections. We also gather all the data that is necessary. It is a GIS system. We engage with child benefit and so on. As regards the figures we are talking about here, we have currently 350 projects on the ground at construction, and the...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: 100%. We have a very strong record of being on time and on budget. I acknowledge the work of the planning and building unit and am here in the company of Mr. Loftus, but I also acknowledge the work of all those who work with the Department to ensure there is strong delivery.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: Yes.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: In the first instance I want to talk about the National Council for Special Education and how we have expanded it significantly. We made provision in the previous budget for an additional 160 staff and that they would be specifically people who were on the ground, such as the special needs organisers who are engaging directly on the ground with the schools. We also see it now as part of...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy very much.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 26 - Education (Supplementary) (22 Oct 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Very good. That concludes the discussion. I thank the Minister and her officials for the constructive engagement at this meeting. That concludes our consideration of the Supplementary Estimates for Vote 26.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Message to Dáil (22 Oct 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: In accordance with Standing Order 101, the following message will be sent to the Clerk of the Dáil: The Select Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has completed its consideration of the following Supplementary Estimates for public services for the year ending 31 December 2024: Vote 26 - Education.

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: I thank the committee for the opportunity to present our Department’s Supplementary Estimate to the members of the select committee this evening. As the Cathaoirleach did, I would like to use this opportunity to express the Minister's apologies for not being able to attend the committee today due to a family bereavement and to let him know his is in our thoughts and prayers. I know...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: Yes, the Estimate includes the power up grant. This grant is being provided by the jobs and enterprise programme. The finer details of it are being worked out at the moment. The ambition is that we will have €4,000 straight into the accounts of SMEs in the retail and hospitality sector over the next couple of months between now and the end of this year. That is subject to the same...