Results 5,201-5,220 of 13,291 for speaker:Joe McHugh

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (9 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: Teacher allocations to all schools are approved annually by my Department in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment. The staffing and redeployment arrangements for the 2019/20 school year are available on the Department website. The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for the individual school authority,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Qualifications Recognition (9 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) is the statutory body with responsibility for developing, promoting and maintaining the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). QQI has been unable to progress applications for the inclusion of awards made by professional accountancy bodies within the NFQ due to an issue concerning the extent of QQI's powers under the Quality Assurance and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (9 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: Each year eligible schools, including the school to which the Deputy has referred, are invited to participate in the July Programme. Participation in the Scheme by a school is voluntary and subject to the availability of suitably qualified personnel in July. It is therefore a matter for the Board of Management of the school, having regard to the resources available to it and taking into...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (9 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: The major building project referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of architectural planning, Stage 2(b) - Detailed Design, which includes the application for statutory approvals and the preparation of tender documents. All statutory approvals have been secured. Following the appointment of a replacement consultant architect, the Design Team has reviewed the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Childcare Services (9 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: As part of the programme for government commitments to promote the use of school buildings outside of school hours, my Department took a number of important actions to build on and enhance the already extensive use of buildings for community use. In relation to the use of schools for the specific purpose of school age childcare, my officials participated in the interdepartmental group that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards Places (9 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: A list of ETB schools in Waterford City and Waterford County is provided in the following link: It shows numbers of pupils enrolled in these schools in the 2017-18 academic year. The Capital Programme provides for devolved funding for additional classrooms, if required, for schools where an immediate enrolment need has been identified or where an additional teacher has been appointed. In...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Literacy Programmes (4 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: I propose to take Questions Nos. 75 and 82 together. The national further education authority SOLAS, provided funding to the Irish Deaf Society in 2018 for the provision of literacy courses for the deaf community through Irish Sign Language. €241k was allocated in 2018 to achieve the following: - Provide QQI certified, Continuing Professional Development and personal development...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (4 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: I wish to advise the Deputy that DES Circular 0013/2017 for primary schools and 0014/2017 for post primary schools set out details of a new model for allocating special education teachers to schools. DES Circulars 0007/2019 for primary schools and 0008/2019 for post primary schools also provide details of how the allocations are being updated for schools from September 2019, based on updated...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil Data Collection (4 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: The introduction of the Primary Online Database (POD) has facilitated the monitoring of pupils as they move through the primary education system and on to post primary. The system was first introduced in September 2014 and it became fully operational in September 2016 when it formed the basis for the annual school census. Accordingly, the earliest it has been possible to join the primary and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Appointments to State Boards Data (4 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: The closest comparative data  that is available on the number and percentage of women on each State Board under the remit of my Department is as at 31 December 2015 and 31 December 2018.  The attached table sets out the figures returned by my Department for 31 December 2018 and 31 December 2015 to the Department...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Multidenominational Schools (4 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: As the Deputy will be aware, my Department is implementing new plans aimed at accelerating the provision of multi-denominational and non-denominational schools across the country, in line with the choices of parents, families and school communities and the Programme for Government commitment to reach 400 such schools by 2030.  The previous model of patronage divestment yielded...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (4 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: Individual school boards of management are responsible for the establishment of special classes. It is open to any school to make application to the National Council for Special education (NCSE) to establish a special class. The NCSE, an independent agency of my Department, is responsible for planning, coordinating and advising on education provision for children with special...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (4 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: The National Council for Special education (NCSE), an independent agency of my Department, is responsible for planning, coordinating and advising on education provision for children with special educational needs. The Council ensures that special schools in an area can, between them, cater for all children who have been identified as needing special school placements. The NCSE’s...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Equipment (4 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: My Department operates a scheme of grants towards the purchase of essential assistive technology equipment for pupils with physical or communicative disabilities. On receipt of a recommendation from the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) my Department advises schools on the level of grant approved. Schools may then proceed to purchase the equipment and claim the grant payment...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: DEIS Status (4 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: As the Deputy may be aware, the issue of this particular school's inclusion in the DEIS programme has been raised in the House before.  As previously set out, my Department has introduced an objective, statistics based model for assessing which schools merit inclusion in the DEIS Programme, so that all stakeholders can have confidence that we are targeting extra resources at...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Data (4 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: As the Deputy will be aware, in April 2018, the Government announced plans for the establishment of 42 new schools over the next four years (2019 to 2022), including a new 16 classroom primary school to be established in 2020 to serve the Donabate school planning area. This announcement follows nationwide demographic exercises carried out by my Department into the future...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Emergency Works Scheme Data (4 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: The school to which the Deputy refers applied for funding under my Department's Emergency Works Scheme to carry out works to the school building to comply with Part M of the Building Regulations.  The application was of a general nature and did not relate to a particular future or currently enrolled pupil. It was deemed to be outside the scope of the scheme in that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Autism Support Services (4 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: My Department’s preferred approach is that all children with Special Educational Needs are educated in school settings where children may have access to fully qualified teachers, individualised education programmes, special needs assistants, school curriculum with the option, where possible and appropriate, of full or partial integration and interaction with other students. Where...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (4 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: As the Deputy is aware, the development of a new permanent building for the school referred to by the Deputy is dependent on the completion of a building project for another school which will result in a  building becoming available for the school in question. The major building project for that school is at an advanced stage of architectural planning Stage 2b (Detailed...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: DEIS Scheme (4 Apr 2019)

Joe McHugh: As the Deputy is aware, my Department has introduced an objective, statistics based model for assessing which schools merit inclusion in the DEIS Programme, so that all stakeholders can have confidence that we are targeting extra resources at those schools with the highest levels of concentrated disadvantage. This new model involves a  calculation of the level of disadvantage in each...