1. This Week in the Oireachtas (20-24 January 2014) 2
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Oireachtas Monitor Published: 20 January 2014 Contents 1. This Week in the Houses of the Oireachtas 20-24 December 2013 2. Oireachtas Questions and Debate 13-17 January 2014 Asylum/Immigration Education: including special needs, ECCE, minorities, disadvantage, literacy and numeracy, school staffing, school buildings, school patronage, curriculum Child Services/ Children in Care: including foster care and social work services, HSE staffing, youth services Child Abuse/Child Protection: including vetting, child abduction Family: including adoption Health and Wellbeing: including disability, mental health, substance misuse, primary care, health services, hospital services, obesity, sports facilities Child Benefit/Social Welfare/Poverty Justice Issues/Human Rights/Equality 1. This week in the Oireachtas (20-24 January 2014) http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=25269&&CatID=60 2. Oireachtas Questions and Debate (13-17 January 2014) Asylum/Immigration Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Direct Provision System (15 Jan 2014) Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Independent) To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will give consideration to introducing a single procedure to decide on protection claims as a matter of urgency in order to reduce the amount of time persons will be obliged to spend in the direct provision system; if he will ensure that the new legislation in this regard complies with various human rights instruments including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which forbids discrimination against children on the basis of the status - including immigration status - of their parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. http://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2014-01-15a.1514 Education: including special needs, ECCE, minorities, disadvantage, literacy and numeracy, school staffing, school buildings, school patronage, curriculum Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (15 Jan 2014) Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the action that can be taken to assist returning emigrants who have difficulty in getting their children back into their local school after being abroad (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. http://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2014-01-15a.667 Written Answers — Early Child Care Education Issues (15 Jan 2014) Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills Information on Ruairí Quinn the criteria that qualifies as early educational intervention for pre-school children with autism.http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/takes/da il2014011500060?opendocument#WRL02925 Written Answers — School Meals Programme (15 Jan 2014) Deputy Gerald Nash asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he is satisfied that school canteens providing meals on school premises are adequately regulated; his Department's current responsibilities in terms of the regulation of the school canteens system/service; if he is considering any new regulations in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/takes/dail20140 11500060?opendocument#WRL02750 Written Answers — Book Rental Scheme (15 Jan 2014) Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills Information on Ruairí Quinn the reason fairer scheme for book rentals cannot be put in place; if he proposes to determine the details of rental schemes being operated in individual schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/Debates%20Authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/takes/dail2014 011500063?opendocument#WRO00950 Written Answers — Book Rental Scheme (16 Jan 2014) Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn if he will review the eligibility requirements for the book rental scheme with particular reference to the exclusion of schools which had already established their own schemes; if he will take into account the circumstances pertaining to a school as outlined in direct correspondence to him (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/Debates%20Authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/takes/dail2014 011600056?opendocument#WRF01550 Written Answers — School Transport Provision (15 Jan 2014) Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn if he will indicate the circular which states that fees for school transport may be paid in two instalments. http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/Debates%20Authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/takes/dail2014 011500063?opendocument#WRO01150 Written Answers — Teaching Qualifications (16 Jan 2014) Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn if he will indicate the circular which states that fees for school transport may be paid in two instalments. http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/Debates%20Authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/takes/dail2014 011600056?opendocument#WRF00450 Written Answers — Teaching Redeployment (16 Jan 2014) Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn if it is possible for a permanent teacher to transfer from one Education Board to another; the mechanism to do so; and if he will make a statement on the matter. http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/Debates%20Authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/takes/dail2014 011600056?opendocument#WRF00996 Written Answers — School Enrolments (16 Jan 2014) Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn further to Parliamentary Question No. 65 of 12 December 2013, if he has considered the introduction of PPS numbers on enrolment forms for schools as part of his new reforms in the area of admissions so as to assist in managing supply and demand and in order to minimise the practice of place-blocking where parents place their children on multiple school enrolment lists. http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/Debates%20Authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/takes/dail2014 011500062?opendocument&highlight=school%20transport#WRN01250 Written Answers — Bullying in Schools (15 Jan 2014) Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn if he will provide an update on the implementation of the action plan on bullying for schools; the actions that have been taken to progress the implementation of the following recommendations contained within the plan; new national anti-bullying policy for schools, review of teacher education support service provision, co-ordinated training and resource development for Boards of Management and parents and a new national anti-bullying website; and if he will make a statement on the matter. http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/Debates%20Authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/takes/dail2014 011500062?opendocument#WRN03750 Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff Contracts (15 Jan 2014) Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the job share programme for special needs assistants has not been addressed by his Department since the 23 of October, when they promised a final draft for SIPTU; if the National Council for Speech Education and his Department guidelines have been modified towards the issues regarding the 32 hour week of an SNA being a full time post, with some SNA's who will be paid for their half post of 16 hours, based on their old contracts after 2005, and have not been modified since, but the new entrants who will jobshare will only be in receipt of 14 hours 10 minutes pay since the new contract will state only the school day, but not the same time as stated in the post holder SNA's contract; and when this matter will be resolved. http://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2014-01-15a.493 Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training Provision (15 Jan 2014) Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent of training in the bachelor of education courses for primary school teachers in the area of autism; if he is satisfied the teachers are sufficiently trained to teach autistic children in main stream primary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. http://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2014-01-15a.472 Child Services/ Children in Care: including foster care and social work services, HSE staffing, youth services Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jan 2014) Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) I, too, wish everyone a happy new year. I warmly welcome the establishment of the Child and Family Agency and was surprised to learn this morning that it was to be branded with the new name Tusla, which apparently is a completely new word reflecting a shared desire for a new beginning and forging a new identity. I wonder why we cannot call things what they are. Why must we make up a word in order to brand the agency? On the Child and Family Agency, the good news is that at the Joint Committee on Health and Children I established with the Minister for Health that no historic deficit will be transferred to the new agency. However, that is where the good news ends. The agency has a budget of €545 million. We established yesterday that the budget does not meet the anticipated costs for 2014 and we are not giving the agency a fighting chance. It has not even got off the starting line. There is an agency