QUESTION NO: 262 DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Richard Bruton) by Deputy Darragh O'Brien for WRITTEN ANSWER on 31/01/2017 To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a new secondary school for the Malahide and Portmarnock areas 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. In April 2016 applications were invited for the patronage of nine new post-primary schools to be established, six in 2017 and a further three in 2018. The new secondary school for Malahide and Portmarnock opening in 2017 was included in this process. I am pleased to advise the Deputy that the patronage process has been completed and as I announced on 3rd November 2016 the Patron of this new post-primary is Educate Together. The assessment report and the recommendations of the New Schools Establishment Group are available on my Department's website. The building project for the new post-primary school to serve the Malahide and Portmarnock school planning areas is included in my Departments current Six Year Construction Programme, announced last November. A suitable site to accommodate this school has been identified and its acquisition is currently being pursued. However, due to commercial sensitivities relating to site acquisitions generally I am not in a position to provide further details at this time. The school will open as scheduled in September 2017 in suitable interim accommodation pending delivery of the school's permanent building. QUESTION NO: 263 DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Richard Bruton) by Deputy Darragh O'Brien for WRITTEN ANSWER on 31/01/2017 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. In April 2016 applications were invited for the patronage of nine new post-primary schools to be established, six in 2017 and a further three in 2018. The new post-primary school for the Swords area of Dublin opening in 2017 was included in this process. I am pleased to advise the Deputy that the patronage process has been completed and as I announced on 3rd November 2016 the Patron of this new post-primary school is Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board. The assessment report and the recommendations of the New Schools Establishment Group are available on my Department's website. As the Deputy may be aware, the building project for this new post-primary school to serve the Swords school planning area is included on my Departments Six Year Construction Programme 2016-2021. My Department has worked closely with Fingal County Council in respect of this and conveyancing is currently underway in respect of a site for the permanent school accommodation. Due to commercial sensitivities relating to site acquisitions generally I am not in a position to provide further details regarding the permanent location at this time. I can, however, assure the Deputy that the site acquisition process for this school is being advanced by my Department as a priority. The school will open as scheduled in September 2017 in suitable interim accommodation pending delivery of the permanent school building. QUESTION NO: 167
DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Richard Bruton) by Deputy Darragh O'Brien for WRITTEN ANSWER on 31/01/2017 To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the progress on the provision of a permanent extension for a school (details supplied); when work will commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. (Details Supplied) Lusk Secondary School, Lusk, Co. Dublin, REPLY. The second phase of the building project referred to by the Deputy was authorized to proceed to tender in October 2016. The Design Team has recently conducted the pre-qualification of suitable contractors and is currently finalizing a shortlist of up to ten contractors who will be requested to tender for the project. Once the shortlist has been finalized tenders will issue for the construction of the new accommodation. Subject to no issues arising it is anticipated that construction will commence in the summer of 2017 and the project will take approximately 18 months to complete. Parliamentary Question - Oireachtas
To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to meet with the new administration in the United States of America to discuss the situation of the undocumented Irish; and if he will make a statement on the matter. - Darragh O'Brien. * For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 31st January, 2017. Ref No: 4291/ REPLY Achieving relief for undocumented Irish migrants in the US and agreement on a facility for future migration between Ireland and the US are longstanding Government objectives. We continue to be committed to these objectives notwithstanding the immigration policy agenda of the new Administration. The Government has raised the issue of immigration reform with US interlocutors – including at the highest levels – on many occasions. I personally raised the issue when I met then-Secretary of State John Kerry in Co. Tipperary, on 30 October 2016. I also raised it when I spoke to Speaker Paul Ryan by telephone on 23 November 2016. The Government has also availed of every opportunity to sensitise the incoming Administration to our concerns and interests regarding immigration reform, and the plight of the undocumented Irish in particular. The Taoiseach raised the matter in his separate telephone conversations with President Trump and Vice-President Pence in the days following the Presidential election. I am very conscious that this is a time of worry and uncertainty for our undocumented Irish citizens in the United States. This issue will therefore be high on the agenda for my visit to Washington DC later this week. In my engagements with the new US Administration and Congress, I plan to avail of all appropriate opportunities to raise the plight of the undocumented Irish citizens and to explore any viable way of providing them with some measure of reassurance and relief. Moreover, the forthcoming St. Patrick’s Day engagements will provide a further opportunity to express to senior figures in the new Administration and Congress our concerns and policy objectives in relation to the undocumented. The Government will continue to use high-level visits to and from the US, as well as Ireland’s diplomatic representation in the United States, to advance these aims. The Embassy in Washington has worked closely with members of the US Congress - in both the House of Representatives and the US Senate, and on both sides of the aisle – to advance progress on this matter and will continue to do so. We are fortunate to be able to draw on the assistance of the Friends of Ireland in Congress and the many representatives of Irish-America, who appreciate our concerns. I will be meeting some of these senior leaders this week in Washington and will ask for their continuing support for our undocumented citizens. In addition to these political efforts, our Embassy in Washington and our Consulates throughout the United States will continue to engage with Irish community groups in relation to their concerns. On 12 January, Ambassador Anderson convened a meeting of senior immigration stakeholders at our Embassy in Washington in order to hear directly from those who work most-closely with the undocumented Irish. We will also continue to support organisations that deliver frontline advisory services and community care to Irish emigrants through the Emigrant Support Programme. More than 70% of the funds allocated through this programme are directed towards welfare services, including in support of the undocumented Irish in the U.S. In the last funding round for the Emigrant Support Programme, organisations in the U.S were allocated more than €2.3 million in funding. The Government, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and our Embassy in Washington continue to work closely with Irish-American community leaders in actively pursuing all viable opportunities to advance immigration reform. We will encourage and promote any realistic possibilities for a solution that may arise. |
PQs
All Parlamientary Questions I make and their answers can be viewed in this section Archives
January 2020
Categories
|