Parliamentary questions

National Training Fund

Thomas Byrne

165. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the funding for the Skillnets programme from the national training framework in each year from 2011 to 2016 in tabular form. [19108/16]

Further Education and Training Programmes

Thomas Byrne

166. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills to provide details of any recent studies, undertaken or commissioned by his Department, of how Ireland compares internationally on macro indicators of lifelong learning; if he will outline the results and conclusions of these studies; and his views on policies to improve lifelong learning here. [19109/16]

Institutes of Technology

Thomas Byrne

167. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason there is no borrowing framework in place for institutes of technology, IoTs, as there is for universities, whereby they can borrow from private sources without explicit permission from the Higher Education Authority or his Department, given that there is no statutory distinction between IoTs and universities; and the plans he or the Higher Education Authority have to put in place such a borrowing framework for IoTs to enable them to borrow independently. [19110/16]

Third Level Admissions Data

Thomas Byrne

168. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if any Irish universities have had to place a cap on student numbers due to funding difficulties; his views on student entry caps as a means of dealing with funding shortfalls by universities; and the sanction he or the Higher Education Authority can employ to censure universities who cap student numbers on certain courses due to funding shortfalls. [19111/16]

Departmental Bodies Data

Thomas Byrne

169. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills to provide a list of all unfilled board positions in bodies under his Department's aegis; and if each of these positions is a paid or an unpaid position. [19112/16]

Technological Universities

Thomas Byrne

170. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if, when consulting on the technological university model and drafting the Technological University Bill, his Department had ever considered creating a comprehensive national technological university system to encompass institutes of technologies across all regions (details supplied); and the reason the technological university consortium model on a regional basis was considered better. [19113/16]

Institutes of Technology

Thomas Byrne

377. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason there is no borrowing framework in place for institutes of technology, as there is for universities (details supplied); if he will outline the barriers that he considers exist to putting in place such a framework to enable institutes of technology to borrow independently. [19106/16]

UK Referendum on EU Membership

Thomas Byrne

108. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he has undertaken any contingency planning for the effects of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union; and the areas in which this contingency planning has been undertaken and any key proposals he has formed. [19025/16]

Third Level Data

Thomas Byrne

109. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of British and Northern Irish citizens who are registered as students in higher education institutes here; and the number of Irish students registered as third level students in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland. [19026/16]

Lansdowne Road Agreement

Thomas Byrne

1. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the dispute with the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland, ASTI, over the Lansdowne Road agreement; and to provide an update on the arrangements for dealing with the data protection issues that may arise if financial emergency measures in the public interest legislation is applied to ASTI members in second level schools. [18464/16]

School Admissions

Thomas Byrne

3. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills how he intends to deal with the issue of discrimination on religious grounds in school admissions; and his plans to insert a provision into the forthcoming schools admission Bill to deal with this issue. [18465/16]

School Transport Administration

Thomas Byrne

5. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills to address concerns that the school transport scheme is not being run on an efficient basis, especially with regard to route selection criteria and criteria for providing a service to students wishing to avail of the scheme on a concessionary basis. [18466/16]

School Accommodation Provision

Thomas Byrne

13. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set out the status regarding the achievement of a permanent site for a school, details supplied. [18242/16]

Literacy Programmes

Thomas Byrne

19. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to reform the literacy and numeracy strategy; his views on the gap that exists in literacy and in numeracy between advantaged and disadvantaged schools; his plans for new standardised testing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18282/16]

Schools Building Projects Status

Thomas Byrne

33. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of funding for the building of a school (details supplied). [18241/16]

School Curriculum

Thomas Byrne

39. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of negotiations with the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland regarding the outstanding dispute over reform of the junior education cycle; to address concerns by students and parents that students in schools staffed by members of the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland will lose 10% in English examinations in 2017 due to the lack of a resolution. [18281/16]

School Transport Administration

Thomas Byrne

40. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills to address concerns that the school transport programme is not being run on an efficient basis, especially with regard to route selection criteria and the criteria for providing a service to students wishing to avail of the programme on a concessionary basis. [18280/16]

Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools Scheme

Thomas Byrne

136. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the names of the 195 Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, DEIS, schools in tabular form, including the year in which the school attained DEIS status, the area in which the school is located and the specific DEIS status of the school, rural, urban band 1 or 2. [18319/16]

Industrial Disputes

Thomas Byrne

137. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the expected impact of the proposed Irish National Teachers Organisation industrial action over the Droichead pilot induction programme on newly qualified teachers in special schools, special classes or special education settings; and his plans for both resolving the industrial dispute or for dealing specifically with the problem of registration for newly qualified teachers in special education settings. [18320/16]

Defined Benefit Pension Schemes

Thomas Byrne

268. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of defined benefit pension schemes in deficit. [18149/16]

Community Development Initiatives

Thomas Byrne

520. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he agrees that Broomfield and District Residents Association do tremendous work in beautifying and litter prevention predominantly in the area of County Meath close to Mellifont Abbey in the context of the Ireland's Ancient East programme; and if funding is available to help such organisations. [18159/16]

Social Enterprise Sector

Thomas Byrne

205. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the funding options available to an existing social enterprise to expand their business. [17407/16]

Ambulance Service Provision

Thomas Byrne

211. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Health the current arrangement for the dispatch of ambulances to the coastal area of east Meath, including the part of County Meath that is in Drogheda, in situations of emergency. [17345/16]

Wind Energy Generation

Thomas Byrne

263. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if a proposed wind farm development which has been refused a grant of planning permission can qualify for the REFIT 2 scheme in respect of a new planning application yet to be lodged, if the previous refused application for planning was lodged before the deadline of December 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17392/16]

Early Childhood Care and Education

Thomas Byrne

279. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if a child care provider is entitled to payment from her Department for a child (details supplied). [17366/16]

Defence Forces Properties

Thomas Byrne

25. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence his plans for the future of Gormanston Camp in County Meath. [16861/16]

Special Educational Needs Data

Thomas Byrne

192. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students with special needs in mainstream classes at primary and post-primary level in the school years 2014/2015 and 2015/2016, in tabular form. [16994/16]

Special Educational Needs Data

Thomas Byrne

195. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of applications from schools he received for special educational needs posts in 2016 and the number of applications by county. [17019/16]

Jobseeker's Allowance Payments

Thomas Byrne

292. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Social Protection why a person (details supplied) was awarded the jobseeker's allowance from December 2015, rather than the date of application, which was September 2015. [16909/16]

Garda Data

Thomas Byrne

111. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to the reply to Parliamentary Question No. 74 of 25 May 2016, if she will provide the number of gardaí who were and are mainly on front-line duties and not in desk jobs in tabular form for each of the years noted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14650/16]

School Transport Expenditure

Thomas Byrne

225. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the funding mechanism by which he pays Bus Éireann and private contractors under the school transport scheme; if he provides funding per pupil or per school bus route and how his Department estimated the unit cost per pupil mentioned in Parliamentary Question No. 238 of 3 December 2015; and if this represented the average unit cost or the actual cost per pupil. [14661/16]

School Transport Expenditure

Thomas Byrne

226. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills to what extent the contribution from parents for students availing of the school transport scheme on a concessionary basis covers the cost of providing the service; and the amount of parental contributions that would cover the cost of providing the scheme for primary, secondary and special needs students. [14662/16]

Company Law

Thomas Byrne

364. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the procedure by which directors of a company that is no longer on the register can begin to take in charge the assets of the former company. [14395/16]

Irish Language

Thomas Byrne

368. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the frequency of tours of the Office of Public Works' properties in County Meath which are available through the Irish language. [14626/16]

Nursing Homes Support Scheme Applications

Thomas Byrne

510. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Health the options available to the family of a person (details supplied) for the fair deal scheme who are in straitened financial circumstances, to cover the cost of full-time care in the intermittent period, approximately four weeks, until the fair deal grant is delivered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15019/16]

Defence Forces Medical Services

Thomas Byrne

693. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he will provide resources to cover the costs for physiotherapy sessions incurred by a serving member of the Defence Forces (details supplied). [14711/16]

Child Care Services Provision

Thomas Byrne

305. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she is aware that a childcare facility (details supplied) in Drumconrath, County Meath is to close; her views on this; and her proposals to ensure there is sufficient provision for childcare in this area. [14134/16]

Schools Building Projects Status

Thomas Byrne

107. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of a new school building (details supplied). [13928/16]

Flood Relief Schemes

Thomas Byrne

141. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of ongoing maintenance of flood relief works on the Tolka river in Dunboyne, County Meath. [13935/16]

Tax Reliefs Eligibility

Thomas Byrne

243. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Finance the position regarding the availability of agricultural relief from capital acquisitions tax where the farming land, the subject of the relief, is wholly or partially the subject of an unexercised option in favour of a wind turbine developer or the subject of a burden in the Land Registry prohibiting any alienation or transfer of the landholding without the consent of a wind turbine developer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12766/16]

State Examinations Reviews

Thomas Byrne

306. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 333 of 17 May 2016 if he will provide figures on the number of schools that are not currently in a position to implement the new junior cycle English classroom assessment for second year English due to the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland ban on teacher participation; to provide figures on the number of students in second year during 2015-16 who will not be able to participate in the junior cycle English classroom-based assessment if the ban continues; and the number of teachers who have registered but who have attended less than 50% of the continuing professional development training courses or otherwise have not participated in CPD training. [13121/16]

School Curriculum

Thomas Byrne

322. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of ten year old children here currently learning a modern language and the number of primary schools here that teach a modern language. [13349/16]

Technological Universities

Thomas Byrne

323. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills to provide details of stage 4 of the designation process for technological university status, that is, an application for designation; the length of time, once a consortium has entered this stage, that it will take to complete this process; and if, upon completing the four stages, legislation will be required for a consortium to be fully designated as a technological university. [13350/16]

Technological Universities

Thomas Byrne

324. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 328 of 17 May 2016, if he will provide further details regarding the differences in mission and core research/teaching functions between a technological university and a traditional university here (details supplied). [13351/16]

Technological Universities

Thomas Byrne

325. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views that greater Exchequer and/or non-Exchequer funding will be required to facilitate the transition to technological universities designation by the current consortia; if his Department can provide data on the level of funding it believes will be required; and details of the level of additional Exchequer funding support and/or non-Exchequer funding that it is estimated will be required for the new technological universities such as the TU4 Dublin group to perform additional research, teaching and conferral functions. [13352/16]

Technological Universities

Thomas Byrne

326. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to re-introduce the Technological Universities Bill 2015 in the Dáil on Report Stage. [13353/16]

Wind Energy Generation

Thomas Byrne

352. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government how he envisages a public consultation will take place regarding industrial turbine development and the planning guidelines relating to them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12767/16]

Health Services Provision

Thomas Byrne

710. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the discontinuance of contracts for physiotherapists in County Meath; if they will be replaced; and how the service for adult physiotherapist will continue to be provided for. [13217/16]

Industrial Relations

Thomas Byrne

95. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills when he will meet the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland regarding various matters of concern and if he has set preconditions for such a meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12392/16]

Student Accommodation

Thomas Byrne

96. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills to outline his efforts to prevent a student accommodation crisis in autumn 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12393/16]