Results 20,481-20,500 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme (29 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware of the Action Plan for Education commitment to increase financial supports for postgraduate students with a particular focus on those from low income households. In response to this commitment, I secured additional funding of €4 million in Budget 2017 to facilitate the reinstatement of full maintenance grants, from September 2017, for the most...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Assistance Fund (29 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: In December 2012 An additional €3 million was approved to supplement the Student Assistance Fund (SAF) following a survey conducted by the HEA in relation to the demand for the Fund.   This supplementary funding was a once-off exceptional measure which was taken in the context of long grant delays/issues encountered by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) in its...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Funding (29 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to the HEA designated higher education institutions. The HEA allocates this funding as a block grant to the institutions. As autonomous bodies, the internal disbursement of this funding, along with any funding it receives from private sources, is a matter for the individual...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Emergency Works Scheme Eligibility (29 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: The school to which the Deputy refers applied to my Department for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme to carry out extensive roof works. The Emergency Works Scheme has a limited budget.  The purpose of this budget is to specifically  address sudden and unforeseen emergencies that arise in schools and not to carry out major works, the need for which has developed over some...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Property (29 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: In the case of the school pitches to which the Deputy refers, my Department understands from the Christian Brothers Congregation that arrangements have been made to dispose of the lands in question to a developer. My Department has written to the Christian Brothers Congregation seeking clarification on a number of points, including whether the land in question is now the subject of a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (29 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that a building project for the school in question is included in my Department’s 6 Year Construction Programme. My Department will be in contact with the school authority in the context of initiating the architectural planning process for the project in due course. In the meantime, my Department recently approved funding to the school to provide interim...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (29 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department has published guidelines to assist in the identification and the assessment for suitability of new sites for schools where the procurement of a new site is required. The relevant guidelines are TGD-025 for Primary School site identification and TGD-027 for Post-Primary site identification. All technical guidelines are available on the Department of Education and Skills...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (29 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department received an application for additional school accommodation from the school referred to. The Deputy will be aware that my Department’s funding priority is focused on the provision of essential classroom accommodation to cater for increased enrolments. In that regard, the school’s application was examined and having regard to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Bullying in the Workplace (29 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: Civil Servants at my Department are obliged to comply with the terms of the Civil Service Code of Standards & Behaviour. On entry to my Department as an employee, they are presented with a copy of the Code and they are required to certify in writing that they have received and read its content. At section 12 it addresses the matter of their relations with their colleagues in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Programme for a Partnership Government states that a new model of In-School Speech and Language Therapy will be established. It also contains a commitment to examine the adequacy of the present policies and provision, and their scope for improvement, particularly in relation to speech and language difficulties and early intervention. As Speech and Language Therapists are currently...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Expenditure (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 158 and 159 together. Based on data for the 2015/16 grant scheme, the estimated cost of increasing the 100% maintenance grants by €1,000 would be €26.7m for adjacent students and €29.2m for non-adjacent students. Extending the 100% maintenance grants to postgraduate students and increasing the current values by €1,000, is estimated...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Expenditure (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that the student grant scheme is not currently available to part-time students. As such, it is difficult to provide costings for this cohort of students. However, based on enrolment data for part-time students provided by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), the estimated cost of increasing the current value of the 100% adjacent and non-adjacent grants by...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I wish to confirm to the Deputy that the school in question has submitted an application to my Department for capital funding for additional school accommodation. The application will be assessed and a decision will be conveyed to the school authority as soon as the assessment process has been completed.  The Deputy will be aware that my Department provided...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, the school to which he refers submitted an application to my Department, for significant capital funding for improved school accommodation. The application was considered in the context of the very significant challenges facing my Department in prioritising available capital funding for essential mainstream classrooms to meet the demand for extra...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that funding for the school to which is refers has been approved to provide 1 mainstream classroom with en-suite toilets and 1 WC for assisted users.As usual when funding for a building project is approved, this has been conveyed to the School Authority in writing.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: Under the Constitution, the State provides for education and where the public good requires it, to provide other educational facilities or institutions rather than to provide education directly. The Education Act 1998, subject to the provisions of that Act, provides that there is made available to each person resident in the State a level and quality of education which is appropriate to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards Staff (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: The person referred to by the Deputy is, I understand an employee of Waterford Wexford Education and Training Board (WWETB).  ETBs are statutory authorities which have responsibility for education and training, youth work and a range of other statutory functions. ETBs manage and operate second-level schools, further education colleges, multi-faith community national schools and a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Property (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: There is a charging lease in place on the property referred to by the Deputy which means that I have a vested interest in the property.I can confirm that my Department has received a request from the property owner to release my interest. My Department has considered the above request. In principle, there is no objection to the request to use the property for community purposes....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: Currently, the capitation grant is €170 per pupil at primary level and €296 per pupil at post-primary level. The estimated cost of restoring capitation grants in primary and post-primary schools to pre 2010 levels is circa €35m. I do recognise the need to improve capitation funding for primary schools having regard to the aforementioned reductions. The Action Plan for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: The funding arrangements in the Community & Comprehensive sector and the ETB sector are primarily based on budgets determined by the Department. The enrolment in the individual schools is the main driver of the level of these budgets. The funding arrangements in the Voluntary Secondary School Sector are based on per capita grants provided by the Department. Some equalisation...