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Irish Independent
2 days ago
- General
- Irish Independent
Wexford student highly commended for Oireachtas essay competition submission
The competition is open to students in the senior cycle, TY, fith and sixth, and encourages young people to explore politics in an original and though-provoking way. It was devised by Independent NUI Senator Rónán Mullen with the support of the Ceann Comhairle's Office and the Oireachtas Education Unit. Hundreds of students across the country submitted essays in Irish and English on the theme 'Parliamentary Politics Liberates' / 'An tSaoirse agus an Pholaitíocht Pharlaiminteach' – in reverence of the 250th Anniversary of the birth of 'The Liberator', Daniel O'Connell. Presenting the prizes, Deputy Ó Fearghaíl said that greater engagement by young people with the political system was 'vital for the health of our democracy and for our ability to overcome the many challenges we face at home and abroad.' 'We are delighted with the growing support for Aiste an Oireachtas – with a significant increase this year in the number of entries received,' says Senator Mullen, the Competition Convenor.' 'Since Aiste an Oireachtas began in 2022, we have had registrations and entries from almost half the secondary schools on the island of Ireland (47 per cent). 'It is clear that schools recognise the importance of getting students to think about our democracy and the need to work it for the common good.'
The Journal
5 days ago
- General
- The Journal
Quiz: Could you answer these Leaving Cert questions?
IT MAY NOT be Leaving Cert weather outside but come rain or shine, the 2025 Leaving Certificate exams are kicking off this Wednesday. In case you haven't been plagued by a recurrent Leaving Cert nightmare yet this year, here's a quiz to test whether you could answer these questions that came up recently. Advertisement The questions are taken from higher level papers on the 2024 Leaving Cert exams (occasionally with some modification to put them in a quiz-friendly format). Bonne chance. Geography: Is it true or false that waves are known as constructive when the swash is greater than the backwash? True False Biology: Which of these is NOT considered a principle of good experimentation? Safe Unique Random selection Double-blind testing Accounting: When does an error of principle arise? An error of principle arises when an item is posted to the incorrect side of the correct class of account An error of principle arises when an item is posted to the correct side of the incorrect class of account An error of principle arises when an item is posted to the incorrect side of the incorrect class of account An error of principle arises when a school principal makes a philosophical mistake French: "Billie vit en banlieue parisienne, dans le département de Seine-Saint-Denis. Elle en a assez des clichés qu'elle entend sur son quartier. D'après elle, la ville où elle habite est super calme." After reading that passage, how would you answer the question, "Comment Billie décrit-elle sa ville de banlieue en Seine-Saint-Denis?" D'après elle, la ville où elle habite est cliché. D'après elle, la ville où elle habite est calme. D'après elle, la ville où elle habite est super calme. D'après elle, la ville où elle habite est super. Maths: h: R -> R is a continuous function. The graph of h(x) has a local minimum at the point (0, 5). State whether the following statement is true or false: 'The value of h(x) must be at least 5 for all real values of x." True False What?? Politics and Society: Which of these is NOT one of the ways Senators are appointed to Seanad Éireann? Nominated by the Taoiseach Elected by NUI and Trinity College graduates Nominated by the President Elected by TDs English: Write a short story focusing on tensions either in a family or in a group of friends in which a connection between the past and the present is important. Ah yeah, I could do that pretty well within an hour. Uh, no, I couldn't do a good job of churning that out on the spot. Gaeilge: Cé a chum an dán Géibheann? Maud Gonne Nuala NÍ Domhnaill Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin Caitlín Maude Business: Which of these is the definition of a partnership? Two businesses join together to form a new legal entity. A business taking control of another business by purchasing the majority of its voting shares. A business set up, owned and controlled by its members for their mutual benefit. A business with a minimum of two and a maximum of 20 owners. And finally, some chemistry: Name a suitable indicator for a titration of diluted vinegar solution against a 0.09 M sodium hydroxide solution in a conical flask. Litmus Methyl Orange Phenolphthalein Indicators are for cars. Answer all the questions to see your result! Alamy You scored out of ! Fail Back to school with you Share your result: Share Tweet Alamy You scored out of ! You've passed, barely Should have done a bit more cramming Share your result: Share Tweet Alamy You scored out of ! Average performance You'll get some points alright, but will it be enough for your course? Share your result: Share Tweet Alamy You scored out of ! Pretty good! Hopefully it'll impress everyone at the Debs Share your result: Share Tweet Alamy You scored out of ! Top of the class You've nabbed that H1 and you're off to college. Comhghairdeas. Share your result: Share Tweet Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DETR says unemployment claim backlog is gone, answers questions on call wait times, AI
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A backlog of unemployment claims that soared as high as 45,000 cases during the pandemic has been cleared, officials told lawmakers on Friday. 'Our unemployment insurance system is working, we have no backlogs and we are concentrating on workforce. And that is very, very important for Nevada,' according to Christopher Sewell, director of Nevada's Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR). And while the backlog has been cleared, there are still thousands of cases currently going through the system. Basic unemployment claims typically take 14-21 days in 87% of the cases, Troy Jordan, deputy director of DETR programs, told the Assembly Committee on Government Affairs. Appeals take longer, with 60% of cases resolved within 30 days and 80% of the cases resolved within 45 days. 'We are currently at that standard,' Jordan said. It's significant progress considering the caseload when Sewell took over at DETR three years ago. The backlog was at 45,000 cases and the state needed a new system to keep up. A year and a half ago, there were still 14,000 appeals cases on the books, according to Christine Nelson, of DETR's employment security division. Now, the levels are smaller, Nelson said: 1,500 non-fraud appeals cases 1,000-1,500 appeals cases involving a fraud investigation 'Cases are being processed now within 45 days. By March, they will be processed at the 30-day mark. You know, fraud cases take longer,' she said. Assemblymember Tanya Flanagan (D-Las Vegas) asked for an explanation of 'claim overpayments.' Many of those problems are being thrown out. 'I will tell you that in the last two years, we have actually waived 112,776 overpayments,' Sewell said. 'We cannot waive overpayment in fraud cases,' Nelson said. Committee members said they still hear plenty of complaints from constituents about wait times on phone calls. Jordan acknowledged DETR currently has 12-20 minute wait times. He said people are bailing out after 8-10 minutes, just a couple of minutes ahead of when DETR can pick up their call. During the pandemic, wait times were sometimes at 3-4 hours. DETR officials said they would work to communicate the best times for people to call in. But it's not Monday morning at 8 a.m., which is when a lot of people are calling now. If there's a better way to get a response, it's through DETR's website, officials said. About 80% of claims or claims issues are being handled online, while only about 20% involve phone calls, DETR said. And staffers that are responsible for handling those phone calls split their days with duties to test the new system, known as 'NUI.' 'We're going through the NUI system, which is the upgraded new unemployment insurance system. And we rolled out the tax system a year ago, we're working on the benefits system right now,' Sewell said. DETR is also working to test Google AI, that is expected to go into operation in a limited capacity sometime in the next two months, Sewell said. He admitted to lawmakers it was 'a sleepless night' when he agreed to use AI. But he pointed to significant time savings: AI's ability to write a determination in 5 minutes, a task that can take six to eight hours in a complex case. The process: Hearings are transcribed, and Google AI looks at state law, federal law and the transcript, then spits out a determination. 'The referee is then going to review that determination. If the determination is wrong, the referee will correct it. If the determination maybe didn't pick something up that actually happened in the hearing that the referee knows what happened and said, 'No, we need to make sure this is included in the decision,' it will be included. It will be reviewed by a referee before that decision ever goes out,' Sewell said. 'This is a tool. It is not a decision maker,' he told lawmakers in response to another question from Flanagan. 'I just don't want to see us lose the emotional intelligence and sensitivity that should be applied to these spaces. Because it's a very critical space for families when they are in this situation. I will continue to watch, but it's interesting,' Flanagan said. 'Before I turn it on, and it is not on, we are continuing working with Google, I believe it's probably going to be turned on here in the next 30 or 60 days, it has to be above 99% correct,' Sewell said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
