QUESTION NO: 437
DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Richard Bruton) by Deputy Darragh O'Brien for WRITTEN ANSWER on 20/06/2017 To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a new secondary school for the Swords area of County Dublin as announced in November 2015; if he has identified locations for these proposed schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. REPLY. The Patron of the new Swords post-primary school, Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board (DDLETB) has decided for operational reasons that it is in the best interests of the school to defer its opening to September 2018. The Patron has confirmed to the Department that Swords Community College will open in September 2018, with a high number of applications having already been received. The acquisition of school sites in densely populated areas such as Dublin/Swords presents an ongoing challenge for my Department as the availability of suitable property is often extremely limited, due to the area of accommodation and ancillary facilities required. My Department will continue to work in close co-operation with Fingal County Council and the site acquisition process is underway in respect of the permanent accommodation for this school. QUESTION NO: 438
DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Richard Bruton) by Deputy Darragh O'Brien for WRITTEN ANSWER on 20/06/2017 To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a permanent site for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. (Details Supplied) Malahide/Portmarnock Educate Together National School REPLY. As the Deputy is aware the building project for the school in question is included in my Department’s capital programme. Officials in my Department are liaising with officials in Fingal County Council in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding in relation to the identification and acquisition of a suitable site for the school. Due to commercial sensitivities relating to site acquisitions generally I am not in a position to provide further details at this time but I can assure the Deputy that the school patron will be informed of the proposed location for the school as soon as it is possible to do so. QUESTION NO: 460
DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Richard Bruton) by Deputy Darragh O'Brien for WRITTEN ANSWER on 20/06/2017 To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding progress on a new school building project for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. (Details Supplied) St. Joseph's Secondary School, Rush, Co Dublin. REPLY. As the Deputy is aware the building project for the school in question is included on my Department's capital programme. Officials in my Department have been liaising with officials in the relevant Local Authority regarding the potential development of an educationally-zoned site to accommodate the school. There are currently infrastructural issues which need to be resolved in order to progress the proposed development. My officials have contacted the school patron to discuss the issues with a view to progressing matters. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the contribution that Ireland has made to UNESCO's international programme for the development of communication; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
REPLY. Ireland does not make any direct payment to the International Programme for the Development of Communication. The Department of Education and Skills, does however pay Ireland's annual membership contribution to UNESCO, which amounted to €1,013,541 in 2017. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the announced new educate together secondary school for Malahide and Portmarnock will open for students in September 2017 as previously announced; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
REPLY. The Patron of the new Malahide/Portmarnock post-primary school (Educate Together) has decided for operational reasons that it is in the best interests of the school to postpone its opening to September 2018. My Department has been working in close co-operation with Educate Together to facilitate the opening of the school and will continue to do so with a view to its opening in suitable interim accommodation in September 2018. Where a requirement for additional post-primary schools has been identified, details including proposed timelines related to the opening of the schools are made known by a Ministerial announcement. However, patrons may decide for different operational reasons in a particular year that it is in the best interests of a new post-primary school to defer its opening. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a permanent extension for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. (Details Supplied) Hedgestown N.S, Balbriggan
REPLY. The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of architectural planning - Stage 2b - Detailed Design, which includes the applications for Planning Permission, Fire Cert and Disability Access Cert and the preparation of Tender Documents. All statutory approvals have been obtained. My Department issued comments to the Board of Management on 7th February and has requested confirmation from the Board that a lease for the new school site has been finalized between the Patron body and the land owner. Confirmation that the lease has been secured will be required before stage 2(b) can be fully approved. Upon receipt of this confirmation my Department will then revert to the Board of Management with regard to further progression of the project. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to parliamentary question number 62 of 30 May 2017, the number of additional staff that have been deployed to embassies and consulates since 23 June 2016 to date in 2017, by embassy and consulate, in tabular form; the number of new hires in embassies and consulates in the same period; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
- Darragh O'Brien. REPLY In his response to Question 62 of 30 May 2016, my predecessor Minister Flanagan provided a comprehensive overview of the additional capabilities and resources that have been assigned across my Department to address issues arising from the complex process of the UK exit from the EU. As Minister Flanagan noted in that response, additional posts have been assigned to our Embassies in London, Paris and Berlin as well as the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union in Brussels. The Passport team in Embassy London has also been augmented in response to an increased demand for passports. The posts are detailed in the table below. Location Posts Sanctioned Posts Filled Ireland’s Permanent Representation to the EU, Brussels 1 Counsellor 1 First Secretary 1 Third Secretary 3 Embassy of Ireland, Paris 1 Counsellor Officer to take up duty in August 2017 Embassy of Ireland, Berlin 1 Counsellor 1 1 First Secretary 1 2 Third Secretaries Officers to take up duty in August 2017 1 Higher Executive Officer Officer to take up duty in August 2017 Embassy of Ireland, London 1 Executive Officer Officer to take up duty in August 2017 To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the contribution made by Ireland to the least developed countries fund in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
- Darragh O'Brien. * For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 20th June, 2017. Ref No: 27106/17 Order: 613 REPLY The Least Developed Countries Fund was established to support Least Developed Countries under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as they carry out the preparation and implementation of the required National Adaptation Programmes of Action and National Adaptation Plans. This is in accordance with mandates of the Conference of Parties of the UNFCCC and the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. Ireland has supported the Least Developed Countries Fund since 2003. The Programme for Government includes a commitment to continue contributions to the Fund. At the meeting of the Conference of the Parties in December 2015, Ireland, along with a number of other donors, pledged additional funding to the Fund. Ireland, through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, provided a grant of €1 million to the Fund in 2017, based on the Taoiseach’s commitment that Ireland would provide at least €6 million for the Fund by 2020. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount of Ireland's contribution to the EU trust fund for Africa; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
- Darragh O'Brien. * For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 20th June, 2017. Ref No: 27107/17 Order: 614 REPLY Ireland has committed to providing €3 million to the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa over the period 2016-2020. This involves five annual payments of €600,000 to the Trust Fund. Our contribution is earmarked for the Horn of Africa Region, which includes Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda, key partner countries for our development programme. The Trust Fund was launched in November 2015 at the EU-Africa Summit on migration in Valletta, as a response to the development challenges in migrants’ home countries. The Trust Fund is implemented through economic programmes that create employment opportunities, support resilience in terms of food security, livelihoods and basic services for local populations, and improve migration management, including by combatting human trafficking and smuggling. It also works to support vital improvements in overall governance. The level of our contribution entitles Ireland to membership of the Board of the Trust Fund and of the Operational Committee for the Trust Fund’s Horn of Africa window, which considers and approves programming under the Trust Fund for the Horn of Africa Region. Ireland consistently advocates for the Trust Fund to focus primarily on addressing the root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement, not least because it is financed overwhelmingly from the development and humanitarian budgets of the EU and of its Member States. We will continue to work to ensure that this emphasis is maintained to the greatest extent possible. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the value of current expenditure on the peace and reconciliation fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
- Darragh O'Brien. * For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 20th June, 2017. Ref No: 27108/17 REPLY Part of the Government’s work in support of the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement is promoting reconciliation on the island of Ireland. A significant expression of this is the Reconciliation Fund, which is administered by my Department. The Fund’s aim is to enable organisations to pursue projects promoting genuine and lasting reconciliation and building sustainable community relations. It forms part of the Government’s overall efforts to help overcome the legacy of the past and to meet the challenge of building a genuinely reconciled society based on values of mutual respect and understanding. Between the establishment of the Fund in 1982 and the end of 2016 over €48 million in funding has been allocated to over 2,000 projects. The signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 committed parties to “positively examine the case for enhanced financial assistance for the work of reconciliation”, leading to a significant increase in funding for the Reconciliation Fund by the Government at the time. As part of the 2014 Stormont House Agreement, the Government committed itself to guaranteeing the continued allocation of €2.7 million annually to the Reconciliation Fund. Last year, the Reconciliation Fund made grants to over 120 projects, supporting organisations across the community and voluntary sector. These groups are building meaningful links across communities, addressing the issues that are impacting on their lives, including sectarianism, and are working to create better understanding between people and traditions on the island of Ireland and between Ireland and Britain. Detailed lists of the grants awarded are available on the Department’s website www.dfa.ie/about-us/funding/reconciliation-fund/ |
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January 2020
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