Contributors
Links
- Irish Aires Home Page
- Irish Aires Current Events
- Irish Aires Houston Links
- Irish Aires Links Page
- Irish Aires Archived
- Irish Aires Email Lists
- Irish Aires News Blog
Archives
This site includes the postings from the Irish Aires email list. This includes a listing of Irish/Celtic events in the Houston area and other information that the Irish Aires radio program posts.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Noel Dempsey, TD Visits Houston
Noel Dempsey, TD
Noel Dempsey TD, Minister of Communications, Marine & Natural
Resources, will visit Houston, Texas for the 2007 St. Patrick's
Day Parade and Celebrations.
His itinerary has not been announced yet, though it is
anticipated that he will attend the Irish Society Dinner on the
16th, the Mass and the Parade on the 17th. Minister Dempsey will
also visit Dallas.
----
Date of Birth/Birth Place: January 1953 - Trim, Co. Meath.
Marital Status: Married, Bernadette (nee Rattigan) with two sons
and two daughters
----
Education:
:: Scoil Naomh Brid, Boardsmill.
:: St. Michael's CBS, Trim
:: BA. And Diploma Career Guidance, University College Dublin
:: HDip in Education and Diploma in Youth Leadership from St.
Patrick's College, Maynooth
----
Community: Actively involved in the following organisations over
the years-
:: GAA, Macra na Feirme,
:: Muintir na Tire (active member at local, county and national
level and editor of their national journal)
:: GAA (former player and official with Ballivor GFC and Killyon
HC. The first Meath GAA Youth Officer)
:: Muintir na Tire,
:: Tidy Towns,
:: Chamber of Commerce
:: Tourist Co-Op
:: Community Council
:: Founder member and secretary of Trim Housing Aid Society
Limited - provided low rent accommodation for newly married
couples.
----
PUBLIC LIFE - LOCAL LEVEL
:: Youngest ever Chairman of Meath County Council '86-'87
:: Chairman of Trim UDC '81-'82 and '85-'86
:: Chairman of Meath Youth and Sport Committee
:: Member and Chairman of Meath VEC
:: Member of Meath Library Committee
:: Member of Meath County Health Committee
:: Director of Eastern Regional Development Organisation (ERDO)
:: Director of Midland East Regional Tourism Organisation (MERTO)
:: Member of Meath County Council sub-committees on employment,
tourism and housing.
PUBLIC LIFE - NATIONAL LEVEL
:: First elected to D il Eireann in 1987.
:: Member of the Public Accounts Committee 1987-1989 and 1990-
1991.
:: Appointed Government Chief Whip in 1991.
:: Minister of State at the Departments of An Taoiseach and
Defence 1991-1992.
:: Minister of State at the Departments of An Taoiseach, Defence
and Finance with responsibility for Office of Public Works (OPW)
1992-1994.
:: Opposition Spokesperson on the Environment and Local
Government 1995-1997.
:: Minister for the Environment and Local Government 1997-2002.
:: Minister for Education and Science 2002-2004.
:: Minister of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources 2004
to present.
:: President of European Council Education Ministers from January
- June 2004.
----
PARTY INVOLVEMENT
Noel Dempsey has been actively involved as a Member and an
Officer of Fianna F il at all levels locally and nationally. He
attended and spoke at the first ever Ogra National Youth
Conference in 1975.
He won the Fianna F il Leinster Public Speaking Competition for
the De Valera Cup in 1976. At various times he was Secretary of
James Griffin Cumman and John Bird Comhairle Ceanntar. He served
as PRO for Meath Dail Ceanntar for a number of years.
Noel served on many Parliamentary Party Committees including
employment, tourism, education.
He is a member of the National Executive and current Honorary
Treasurer of the Party. He has always been active in trying to
advance the Party cause particularly in relation to candidate
selection, development of policy and involving councillors.
Following the break up of the Fianna F il - Labour Government in
1994 he was specifically requested by the Party Leader to
organise the councillors around the country to try to restore
morale and to prepare for the General Election of 1997. During
that two-year period he visited most constituencies at least
three times and met will all of the councillors on a regular
basis.
His talents as an organiser have been recognised since his
appointment as Chief Whip. He has negotiated each Programme for
Government since 1991. He has served on national election
committees since that time also.
He was Director of Elections for the Dublin West by-election in
1996 and defied the odds by securing the seat for Brian Lenihan.
This was the first by election victory for Fianna F il since
1985.
Noel was appointed Director of Elections for Mary McAleese
successful Presidential Election in 1997.
As Director of Elections for the 1999 Local Elections he presided
over the most successful local election campaign for Fianna F il.
For the first time since 1967 a party in Government increased
their vote, netting over 30 extra seats for the Party at local
level.
----
NOEL DEMPSEY IN GOVERNMENT
All his political life Noel Dempsey has believed that politics is
about making a difference so he has never hesitated to rock the
political boat or take stances that may be unpopular or that
upset the political establishment. The evidence of this is
visible from his first election to D il Eireann nor did he change
when he was appointed Chief Whip in 1991.
In that position he introduced the most comprehensive package of
measures on D il reform which led to an enhanced Committee
system, streamlined D il debates, made debates more topical and
relevant and paved the way for electronic voting in the D il.
As Minister of State in the Department of Defence he took a
special interest in the Civil Defence and was responsible for the
Challenge 2000 Report which provided the blueprint for the
modernisation of the Civil Defence throughout the country. He
also had responsibility for initiating and implementing the
report on the reform of the Defence Forces which has led to the
current modernisation of the Forces.
In the Office of Public Works Noel Dempsey provided over what was
then the largest ever programme of conservation and restoration
of our built heritage.
Reform and modernisation was very much the theme of Noel
Dempsey's time in Environment and Local Government. In his time
there he initiated and saw through a complete reform of the local
Government system including:
Putting a dedicated Local Government Fund in place which
guaranteed that motor tax was completely dedicated to local
authorities.
Ensuring new Value For Money procedures for Local Authorities
including a new financial management system.
Pioneering the 'one stop shop' concept bringing local government
and national services together in local areas.
Securing constitutional recognition for Local Government.
Removing the power of Government to postpone local elections.
Developing Strategic Policy Committees which give Councillors and
local groups more say in local Government. The Corporate Policy
Groups also give Councillors more say.
Establishing County Development Boards to bring local Government
and local development closer together.
Introducing representational payments to Councillors thereby
ensuring a widening of the membership of local authorities.
Introducing an ethical framework for local Government members and
officials.
The Local Government Act 2000 was described as the "most
comprehensive reform of Local Government since its foundation 100
years ago."
The proposal to end the "dual mandate"was one of the best known
reforms proposed but it had to be abandoned when the four
independent TDs, who were vital to the survival of the Government
refused to support it. They were the only TDs who opposed the
measure, Noel Dempsey took the pragmatic approach and agreed to
defer the reform confident that it would pass in a subsequent
D il. The dual mandate was abolished by his successor.
Major problems were caused by the fact that outdoor concerts in
venues like Slane had to undergo full planning application before
they could take place. Noel Dempsey resolved these problems by
introducing legislation for the licensing of outdoor concerts.
----
Environment
Frank McDonald, noted Irish Times Environment Editor, summed up
Noel Dempsey's time in environment by stating that he was the
best Minister for the Environment since that position was
created.
Noel's innovative thinking led to the introduction of the levy on
plastic shopping bags which led to an immediate reduction of over
90% usage of plastic shopping bags in this country. This in turn
led to a dramatic decrease in the serious litter problem related
to plastic bags. Equally importantly it convinced the public that
they could make a difference in the fight against litter.
Other major achievements for the environment during Noel's tenure
were:
:: The establishment of the Environment Fund which has meant a
dedicated ringfenced fund for environmental projects. The money
for this fund comes directly from the plastic bag and landfill
levies.
:: There was a major improvement in our water quality between
1997 and 2002 as a result of the major funding secured for water
and sewerage works throughout the country.
:: Extended the ban on bituminous solid fuel to 14 additional
towns and cities.
:: A major drive to properly manage our waste was initiated
during his term in office with the publication of "Changing our
Ways". This policy set targets for the reduction of waste going
to landfill for recycling of domestic, commercial and
construction waste.
:: Regional waste management plans were put in place which
provided for door to door collection of waste and dry
recyclables. This meant that 33% of households had this service
within 5 years.
:: Increased the number of bring banks from 850 in 1998 to 1,800
in 2002.
:: Increased the number of civic amenity recycling centres from
single figures to over fifty.
:: Achieved the 25% packaging waste recovery target in 2001.
:: Established the National Construction and Demolition Waste
Council in June 2002.
:: Introduced the concept of pay by weight for waste to encourage
recycling and reduction in waste production.
:: Increased rate of recycling of municipal waste be 50% between
1998 and 2001.
:: Initiated moves to establish the Office of Environmental
Enforcement
:: Established Comhar, a sustainable development partnership.
:: Successfully negotiated the 13% growth limitation target for
Ireland under Kyoto Agreement.
:: Phased out leaded petrol five years ahead of schedule.
:: National consultation process on GMOs.
:: Introduced an eco-audit system.
:: Published the National Climate Change Strategy.
:: Enshrined the concept of sustainable development in planning
law for the first time ever.
:: Secured voluntary agreement to phase out phosphate based
laundry detergents to protect our water systems.
:: Published the National Climate Change Strategy.
:: Introduced a farm waste management scheme.
----
Planning:
:: Initiated and completed the most comprehensive review of the
Irish planning system since the first Planning Act of 1963.
:: Introduced the concept of Strategic Development Zones.
:: Protection and grant scheme initiated for our architectural
heritage.
:: Introduced Town Renewal Scheme.
:: Ensured the future of small to medium size towns by
introducing the retail planning guidelines.
:: Introduced the Upper Shannon Rural Renewal Scheme which has
led to a revitalisation of that area.
:: Initiated and developed the National Spatial Strategy
----
Road Safety:
:: Introduced the first ever national car testing system.
:: First Minister ever to set targets for reduction in the number
of deaths and injuries on our roads.
:: Introduced the legislation which paved the way for the penalty
points system.
:: Secured record amounts of funding for our national roads
programme and for non-national roads fundamentally changed the
policy in relation to national roads by ensuring that roads were
designed and planned on a national basis rather than on the basis
of a series of bypasses of individual towns.
----
Housing:
:: Introduced many measures to tackle the housing shortages and
to deal with spiralling house prices.
:: Increased funding for local authority housing programmes,
revised many schemes for loans and grants for social housing,
:: Introduced the concepts of affordable sites and improved
provision for affordable housing.
:: In the private housing sector many measures were taken to
improve the number of new houses being built such as the changes
to residential densities to allow more houses to be built in
urban areas.
:: Streamlined the planning system to speed up the planning
process and to allow for zoning of more land for housing.
:: The Serviced Land Initiative (SLI) providing water and
sewerage for zoned land accelerated the availability of land for
housing.
:: Successfully introduced the concept of private developers
providing land or houses for social and affordable housing with
part 5 of the Planning and Development Act. The importance of
this part of the Act was that it settled for once and for all the
arguments about whether the State had the right to "interfere"
with private property rights for the "common good". This argument
had been used as an excuse by governments of all hues since in
1970 Kenny Report.
----
Electoral Law:
:: Established Referendum Commission
:: Introduced legislation regarding donations to political
parties,
:: Successfully initiated and piloted electronic voting.
:: Introduced photographs and party logos on ballot papers to
facilitate those with reading difficulties.
----
Library Service:
:: Initiated, completed and implemented a total review of the
library service including a 500% increase in funding.
:: At the time of the General Election 2002 a complete review of
our laws in relation to water services and our rates system was
almost complete.
----
EDUCATION
Noel Dempsey, T.D. - Just over two years as Minister for
Education and Science and ..
Q. Who was responsible for engaging the Irish public in the
largest consultation on our education system in our history?
A. Noel Dempsey
Q. Who was responsible for the highly-acclaimed OECD evaluation
of our third level system designed to improve the quality of the
system?
A. Noel Dempsey
Q. Who was responsible for ending the industrial relations chaos
that had poisoned our schools
A. Noel Dempsey
Q. Who was responsible for achieving out of school hours
parent/teacher meetings?
A. Noel Dempsey
Q. Who was responsible for standardisation of the school year?
A. Noel Dempsey
Q. Who put the needs of the learner back at the centre of the
education debate
A. Noel Dempsey
Q. Who was responsible for major new initiatives in delivery of
school projects, and record levels of investment in schools
A. Noel Dempsey
Q. Who was responsible for bringing coherence to the
internationalisation of Irish education?
A. Noel Dempsey
Q. Who was responsible for the major review of education
disadvantage programmes and the rationalisation of the approach?
A. Noel Dempsey
Q. Who supported the teaching profession when Fine Gael sought to
prevent payment of benchmarking increases to teachers?
A. Noel Dempsey
----
SPECIAL NEEDS
SUPPORTS PROVIDED FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
Learning Support Teachers
The Minister increased the number of learning support teachers in
the primary school system from 1,302 in 1998 to 1,531 at present,
at an annual cost of EUR54m.
Resource Teachers
The Minister increased the number of resource teachers from 104
in 1998 to more than 2,300 currently, allocating EUR70m.
Special Needs Assistants
The Minister increased the number of full time Special Needs
Assistants from 300 in 1998 to 4,239 full-time and created a
further 1,264 part-time posts. The annual salary cost of this
service is estimated at EURI00m for 2003.
Part-time Tuition Services
The Minister increased the allocation for part-time tuition
services for children with special needs from EUR12m in 2002 to
EUR19m in 2003.
Special Schools
There are 108 special schools catering for approximately 6,000
pupils. These schools employ an estimated 1,090 teachers at an
annual salary cost of EUR43.6m.
----
EDUCATION FOR PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY BILL
This Bill, published in July 2003, guarantees the right of
education to children with educational disabilities. It's a right
enforceable in law.
NATIONAL COUNCILFOR SPECIAL EDUCATION
The Minister appoint the Council this year and the Civil Service
Commission is interviewing for 80 new special education needs
organisers (SENO). These will be based throughout the country and
are a major plank of the Minister's strategy to improve delivery
of special education. The Council will be fully operational next
year.
SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAMME
2004 BUILDING PROGRAMME
The 2004 building programme will be announced shortly. For the
first time ever the primary programme will exceed EUR200m. In
total EUR287m has been committed to school building in 2004.
Innovations such as the pilot project to allow small primary
schools to undertake building and modernisation work
MULTI ANNUAL CAPITAL PROGRAMME
To allow for better long-term planning of school building, Budget
2004 announced that 5-year multi annual capital envelopes (will
be agreed in future years for the school building programme.
PRIMARY SCIENCE CURRICULUM
The primary Science curriculum is being introduced to primary
schools in the 2003/2004 school year. If I knew the benefit of
this, it would help. Otherwise it's as interesting as a
tombstone.
INCREASED CAPITATION FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS
The Minister increased the capitation grant to primary schools by
EUR10 per pupil, bringing the annual capitation grant to
EURI21.68. All schools will receive a minimum payment of
EUR7,300.
STANDARDISATION OF THE SCHOOL YEAR
The Social Partnership Agreement 2003-2005 Sustaining Progress,
provided for modernisation of the education sector. One of the
key developments is co-ordinated opening and closing times for
primary schools for mid-term breaks and Christmas and Easter
holidays. This is the first time all schools will have co-
ordinated opening and closing times, and will also apply to post
primary schools.
NEW PRIMARY TEACHER TRAINING COURSE
Recognition was granted to a new primary teacher training course
in August. The new course will be delivered by Hibernia College,
an on-line third level educational company, using innovative on-
line e-learning technology and will lead to a Graduate Diploma in
Primary Education. The course will be open to graduates and in
addition to its on-line component will involve face-to-face
tuition delivered at regional locations. In 2003, approximately
1,460 primary teachers graduated from primary teacher training
courses.
AN GHAEILGE
The Minister, setting out to address the lack of adequate
teaching materials for use in all-Irish schools , published a
comprehensive multi-media range of language materials for use in
infant classes and received enthusiastically by schools and
teachers. Work on extending the range is continuing. The
standards of Irish required of primary teachers who were trained
abroad was reviewed during the year and proposals for the
revision of the related examinations finalised. Initial changes
have already been implemented in the most recent round of theses
examinations the Scrudu na hAghaidh Caillocht Gaelige and further
changes will occur in 2004.
POST PRIMARY
NEW JUNIOR CERTIFICATE SCIENCE SYLLABUS
The new syllabus, announced in June 2003, will be available for
schools wishing to provide it with effect from the 2003/04 school
year, for examination for the first time in 2006. The revised
syllabus in Junior Certificate Science is predicated on a hands-
on investigative approach to science teaching and learning, with
35% of the available marks allocated directly to practical work.
ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR SECOND LEVEL SCHOOLS.
At second level we are providing an additional EUR8 per student
capitation as announced in the v estimates. This will bring the
annual capitation grant to EUR274. Significantly additional
funding of EUR4 per capita to voluntary secondary schools as a
further equalisation measure and in recognition of the particular
financial pressures (e.g. insurance) on that sector.
SCHOOL TRANSPORT APPEALS BOARD
The Minister launched this Appeals Board to increase transparency
and to demonstrate to our customers that such appeals are
efficiently and objectively treated. This also operates at
primary level.
DISADVANTAGE
EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGE COMMITTEE
The Educational Disadvantage Committee is undertaking a root and
branch review of educational . disadvantage programmes in order
to ensure optimum synergy and integration between them. The
review will be completed in 2004.
TRAVELLER EDUCATION
Work has commenced on the development of a strategic framework
for Traveller education. The framework will be completed in
summer 2004 and will provide recommendations on the way forward
in relation to Traveller education on a phased implementation
basis
THE NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL WELFARE BOARD
In December Minister Dempsey launched the new National
Educational Welfare Service and officially opened its new offices
in Green St, Dublin. The new service will address the problems of
early school leaving and absenteeism. Fifty-eight Educational
Welfare staff have been appointed , including 31 former school
attendance officers. Ongoing recruitment will bring the total
number of staff to 84 by the end of the year
ACCESS AT THIRD LEVEL
THE ESF-AIDED FUND FOR THIRD LEVEL STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
The fund was increased significantly by the Minister with over
1,050 students receiving allocations for services and equipment
at a cost of EUR3. 1m. The total allocation in 2003 for access
measures targeted at students in further and higher education was
EUR26m.
THE NATIONAL OFFICE FOR EQUITY OF ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION
The National Office for Equity of Access to Higher Education has
been established within the HEA in line with the key
recommendation of the Action Group on Access to Third Level
Education that a single co-ordinating body was essential to
improve access to third-level.
STUDENT SUPPORT
The Minister announced a package of measures, costing EUR42m in a
full year, to address the problem of disadvantage in third-level
education in May 2003. The package included: -
Increased Grant levels by 15% Approximately 56,000 students will
benefit.
Extended thresholds and increase gradations. An extra 5,000
students will qualify for full maintenance grant. Overall, 11,000
students will receive some benefit for the first time.
Increased the amount of the "Top-up" grant to the maximum
personal rate of Unemployment Assistance. 8,000 students will
benefit.
Extended threshold for the EUR610 Student Service Charge from
EUR36,891 to EUR40,000. This will benefit up to 4,000 students
from households with moderate incomes.
THE FUTURE
REVIEW OF HIGHER EDUCATION
An independent review of higher education in Ireland will be
conducted this year by a high level team appointed by the OECD
that includes former Dutch, Australian and US Ministers as well
as senior international officials and academics. It will review
all aspects of higher education in Ireland and compare Irish
performance with that of other OECD countries.
PROGRAMME OF RESEARCH IN THIRD LEVEL INSTITUTIONS - CYCLE 3
(PRTLI)
In November 2003, the Minister lifted a previously announced
'pause' on capital funding for cycle 3 of the PRTLI. . EUR25m has
been allocated as the first instalment on a EUR140m capital
investment to ensure that Cycle 3 of the Programme for Research
at Third Level (PRTLI) progresses rapidly.
REVIEW OF THIRD LEVEL CAPITAL PROJECTS
The Higher Education Authority is reviewing all third level
capital projects to establish priorities in the funding of third
level institutions. Decisions on individual capital projects at
third level institutions will be taken when the review is
complete.
EXPERT GROUP ON FUTURE SKILLS NEEDS
The fourth report of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs was
launched in October 2003. Progress continued in the
implementation of previous expert skills group recommendations,
including through the provision of a dedicated ICT skills fund
amounting to EUR2.5m.
Vision Document
Early in 2004 the Minister launched a public discussion on the
future development of education in Ireland. The purpose of this
process was to achieve consensus on a number of the big issues
facing education. It was the first time an Irish Government set
out to find and register the opinions of ordinary people, as
opposed to professional educators.
DISADVANTAGE
Under the special initiative Tackling Educational Disadvantage in
Sustaining Progress,specify what and when to improve literacy
attainment levels, address the problem of early school leaving,
pilot initiatives in workplace education and learning and provide
adult learning opportunities for those in disadvantaged
communities. This began in January 2004 with the publication and
launch of a discussion paper.
----
INSTITUTES OF TECHNOLOGY
Increased Expenditure
In 2003, the recurrent funding provided for the Institutes of
Technology expenditure in the sector increased from EUR369.37
million to EUR391.36 million: a percentage increase of 5.95% over
the figure for 2002.
Research
Research is a core element of the mission of higher education. A
provision ofEUR698 million has been allocated in the National
Development Plan 2000-2006 for Research, Technological
Development and Innovation in the Education sector. A specific
allocation of EUR3 8.10 million .has been assigned to support and
strengthen the research capabilities of the technological sector
by enabling institutes to focus on core strengths at both
national and individual institute level.
Apprenticeship
Since 1997, the total apprentice population has increased from
13,978 to 25,910. The growth in apprenticeship provision in the
education sector (phases 4 and 6) has increased from
approximately 4,000 places in the 1997/98 academic-year to 10,400
places for 2003/04. The Department increased provision in a
number of trades for the academic year 2003/04, including
electrical, plumbing, and brickwork.
c Noel Dempsey 2004 Newtown, Trim Phone: 046 9431146 , Fax 046
9436643 Navan Phone: 046 9076989 Fax: 046 9074226.
http://www.noeldempsey.ie/