Parliamentary questions

Programme for Government Implementation

Micheál Martin

1. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach if he or his officials are concerned about possible delays in any commitments made in the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40520/13]

Programme for Government Implementation

Joe Higgins

2. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the implementation of the Programme for Government. [45915/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Gerry Adams

3. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach his priorities for the forthcoming plenary meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council in County Armagh in November. [40791/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Joe McHugh

4. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on his engagements with the British Government and with the Northern Ireland Executive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44105/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Joe McHugh

5. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on his recent discussions with Mr. Bill Clinton, former President of the United States of America, in respect of Northern Ireland. [44109/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Joe McHugh

6. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Taoiseach if he will set out his Department's plans for promoting greater co-operation between Britain and the Republic of Ireland in addressing policy concerns at meetings of EU Heads of Government. [44112/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Joe Higgins

7. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Taoiseach if he has recently met representatives of the Northern Ireland Executive. [45916/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Gerry Adams

8. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if he spoke to the British Prime Minister David Cameron at the recent European Council meeting in Brussels on matters relating to the North of Ireland and the peace process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47673/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Gerry Adams

9. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach when he next plans to visit the North of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47697/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Micheál Martin

10. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach if he has met members of the Northern Ireland Executive recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47758/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Micheál Martin

11. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach if he has visited Northern Ireland recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47847/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Micheál Martin

12. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach the particular areas of youth unemployment that were discussed at the British-Irish Council meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50146/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Micheál Martin

13. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach the specific actions he will take on youth unemployment following the British-Irish Council meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50147/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Gerry Adams

14. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if he spoke to the British Prime Minister David Cameron regarding the planned State visit to Britain next April by President Michael D. Higgins; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50213/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Gerry Adams

15. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the 21st British-Irish Council summit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50216/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Gerry Adams

16. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his visit to the Messines and the Menin Gate in December; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50217/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Joe Higgins

17. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the recent North-South meeting in Armagh. [53719/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Joe Higgins

18. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his visit to the Messines and the Menin Gate in December; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53721/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Richard Boyd Barrett

19. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will report on recent meetings he has had with Northern Ireland Executive representatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53849/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Gerry Adams

20. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if he had meetings with British Prime Minister David Cameron at the European Council meeting on19 December, 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55567/13]

Northern Ireland Issues

Gerry Adams

21. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach his plans to meet with the British Prime Minister David Cameron. [2225/14]

Northern Ireland Issues

Gerry Adams

22. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach when he plans to hold a debate in Dáil Éireann on Northern Ireland. [2232/14]

Pupil-Teacher Ratio

Charlie McConalogue

124. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the percentage of all primary schools with fewer than five mainstream teachers; the cumulative effect of the budgets he has introduced on the pupil-teacher ratios in these schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2609/14]

Apprenticeship Programmes

Jonathan O'Brien

125. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills when he will reverse the decision to charge fees of up to €1,433 to low-earning apprentices for the college part of their courses; and if his attention has been drawn to the hardship this is causing. [2681/14]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Mick Wallace

126. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills if 170, of the 390 new special needs assistant posts announced on 3 December 2013, were allocated before the end of 2013; when the remaining 220 posts will be allocated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2699/14]

School Textbooks Rental Scheme

Charlie McConalogue

127. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason the new book rental scheme is not available to all schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2610/14]

Schools Amalgamation

Catherine Murphy

128. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if, in relation to forthcoming post-primary school plans for Maynooth, County Kildare, he will consider, on a pilot or temporary basis, the amalgamation of the two schools in view of the fact that no planned temporary school buildings will come under the board of management of Maynooth post-primary school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2746/14]

Value for Money Reviews

Éamon Ó Cuív

129. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education and Skills when he expects to publish the value for money report on small schools; the reason for the delay in publication; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2275/14]

School Guidance Counsellors

Charlie McConalogue

130. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on recent reports that guidance counsellors are spending 59% less time on one-to-one student counselling than they did just two years ago; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2345/14]

School Textbooks Rental Scheme

Robert Troy

131. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will extend his Department’s support for book rental schemes in order that more schools and pupils can avail of it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2350/14]

Springboard Programme

Seán Kyne

132. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Education and Skills in recognition of the over 15,000 educational places provided by Springboard, if a new round of Springboard courses will be introduced in 2014; when a call for expressions of interest among course providers will be made; and if the criteria governing eligibility will be reviewed to assist, for example, persons on long-term social welfare schemes such as invalidity pension, to avail of the opportunity provided by Springboard. [2317/14]

School Textbooks Rental Scheme

Mick Wallace

133. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review his decision to exclude primary schools with existing book rental schemes from the new €15 million investment in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2324/14]

Education Welfare Service Provision

Thomas P. Broughan

134. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the actions being taken by his Department to address the findings and recommendations contained in the recently published investigation by the Ombudsman for Children’s office entitled, A statement based on an investigation into provision by the Department of Education and Skills and the HSE for a child in care, particularly the recommendations contained therein in relation to enrolment policies and the importance of ensuring school placements for children in care. [2276/14]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Richard Boyd Barrett

135. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide reassurances to parents and teachers that there will be no cuts or reductions in services to the visiting teacher service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2349/14]

School Curriculum

Charlie McConalogue

136. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills when the first meeting of the working group on junior certificate reform will take place; the number of hours in-service training which will be provided to each English teacher in advance of the commencement of the new curriculum in September 2014; the way he proposes to address the concerns of teachers regarding the reforms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2344/14]

School Textbooks Rental Scheme

Jonathan O'Brien

137. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to address the issues raised in his proposed book rental scheme in view of the manner in which the information regarding existing schemes was collected by his Department. [2342/14]

School Patronage

Mattie McGrath

138. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether the forum for patronage report was far too narrow in scope and centred much more around the religious education curriculum rather than any meaningful understanding of whole school ethos; his views on whether the forum report's philosophy will impose restrictions on Roman Catholic schools in respect of the way religious education is taught in Roman Catholic schools, on the way the religious artefacts are displayed, on the way prayer-life is conducted and the way the Christian ethos is lived; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2313/14]

Education and Training Provision

Clare Daly

139. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will re-examine his decision to require apprentices to fund the part of their apprenticeship when they attend college as this will have a serious impact on participation rates in apprenticeships. [2321/14]

School Patronage

Richard Boyd Barrett

140. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will instruct his Department to engage and consult directly and openly with the board of management of a school (details supplied) with the aim of briefing the board and parents on his Department's efforts to find a location for the school; if he will meet with them within the next two weeks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2348/14]

Education and Training Provision

Jonathan O'Brien

141. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to reverse the fees imposed on apprentices for off-the-job training. [2338/14]

Education Policy

Charlie McConalogue

142. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a review of teaching time in second level schools is to be carried out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2347/14]

Value for Money Reviews

Denis Naughten

143. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Education and Skills the progress to date in addressing the specific issues of rural schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2279/14]

Teacher Education Programmes

Charlie McConalogue

144. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the measures he is putting in place to facilitate persons who hope to pursue teaching as a career; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2346/14]

Teaching Council of Ireland

Jonathan O'Brien

145. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for new laws that will monitor teacher performance. [2340/14]

Student Grant Scheme Eligibility

Thomas P. Broughan

146. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 131 of 19 December 2013, if a specific mechanism can be built into the online application system for Student Universal Support Ireland in order that students making an application for a student maintenance grant will be automatically prompted by the system of the third level institutions which are not approved institutions for the grant and therefore eliminate the problem whereby some students enrolled in courses with private colleges had their grant applications processed online but were informed many months later that they were ineligible for the student maintenance grant. [2277/14]

Adult Education

Seán Kyne

147. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the supports provided, financial or otherwise, by his Department to encourage the take up of Irish language courses by adults in the context of lifelong learning. [2316/14]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Jonathan O'Brien

148. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of schools here that operate withdrawal or timeout rooms for children with autism; and his plans to regulate and monitor the use of them. [2339/14]

Early Childhood Care Education

Robert Troy

149. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the actions his Department will take in 2014 to ensure a high quality early years education system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2351/14]

Pension Provisions

Mattie McGrath

150. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills if any of the two primary and second level teachers on his Department's payroll who retired between 1 February 2009 and 29 February 2012 and who had the salary increase of 2.5% payable from 1 September 2008 withheld when their gratuity and pension entitlements were being calculated because they continued to be paid by payable order have now transferred to electronic payment; if so, has the 2.5% increase now been applied to their current pensions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2312/14]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Clare Daly

151. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he has taken to avoid the problems he noted his predecessor was facing in February 2008 with regard to institutional rigidities and being bullied by teachers' interests and Civil Service conservatism when it came to providing ABA interventions for children with autism. [2318/14]