Results 20,561-20,580 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that DES Circular 0013/2017 for primary schools and 0014/2017 for post-primary schools were published on 7 March 2017. These Circulars set out the details of the new model for allocating special education teachers to schools. The revised allocation process replaces the generalised allocation process at primary and post primary school level for learning...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: It is the policy of my Department that all children with Special Educational Needs, including those with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network. Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of appropriate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: It is the policy of my Department that all children with Special Educational Needs, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network. Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of appropriate educational interventions, delivered by fully...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Psychological Assessments (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I can inform the Deputy that my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychology service to all primary and post primary schools through an assigned NEPS psychologist and in some cases receive assessment services through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA). Under this scheme schools can have a student assessment carried...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Summer Works Scheme Applications (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I wish to confirm to the Deputy that my Department is in receipt of an appeal from the school in question relating to its application under the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) (2016-2017). My Department is considering the appeal and a decision will be conveyed to the school authority as soon as this process has been completed.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Expenditure (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: The 2014/15 consolidated financial statements for University College Cork were submitted to my Department last May and were then laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. I have forward a copy of those accounts for the Deputy's information. The accounts for 2015/16 have not yet been signed off by the Comptroller and Auditor General but once finalized and received by my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) are provided to assist recognised schools to cater for pupils with disabilities, who have additional and significant care needs, in an educational context and where the nature of these care needs have been outlined in medical and other professional reports as being so significant that a pupil will require additional adult assistance in order to be able to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Procurement Contracts Data (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) and the procurement hubs in the Health, Education, Local Authority and Defence sectors are the main sourcing organisations given responsibility under the Procurement Reform Plan to establish centralised procurement framework agreements.  These framework agreements and contracts are available to all public sector bodies to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: Officials from my Department have been working closely with Laois County Council under the Memorandum of Understanding for the acquisition of school sites in order to identify and procure a suitable site for the new post-primary school to open in Portlaoise in September 2017. A number of potential site options were identified and assessed and a shortlist of preferred site options is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: The criteria for the award of Incremental Credit, for qualified teaching service given in a private second level school, are set out in my Department's Circular 29/2010. These criteria were agreed under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council. This Council is comprised of representatives of the teacher unions, school management bodies, the Department of Public Expenditure...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I am aware of the service provided by the company referred to by the Deputy. This company operates on a commercial basis and consequently, it would not be appropriate to allocate public funding to this service in the absence of a public procurement process.  My Department through the PDST-TIE provides support and guidance to schools on internet safety. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Data (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department uses a Geographical Information System (GIS) to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise. In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas. The GIS uses data from a range of sources, including the Central...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme Data (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: To date contributions amounting to some €220 million in cash, counselling and property transfers have been made by the 18 religious congregations who managed most of the residential institutions in which child abuse took place. These contributions are being made under two rounds: the legally binding 2002 Indemnity Agreement and the voluntary offers made in 2009 in the aftermath of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: To date contributions amounting to some €220 million in cash, counselling and property transfers have been made by the 18 religious congregations who managed most of the residential institutions in which child abuse took place. These contributions are being made under two rounds: the legally binding 2002 Indemnity Agreement and the voluntary offers made in 2009 in the aftermath of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department received an application for significant capital funding from the school in question to provide additional school accommodation. As the Deputy will be aware, my Department’s current priority is focused on the provision of essential classroom accommodation to ensure that every child will have access to a physical school place and where...

Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I thank Deputy Donnelly for raising this issue. The position is that every year, in the Finance Bill, we review tax avoidance. As long as I have been here - which has been a long time - we have seen loopholes being closed each year when they are being abused or exploited in a way that was never intended. In all cases, initiatives in the tax code - which I have seen over many years - are...

Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: First, I am strongly of the view that we should use the Revenue to ensure that everyone pays their fair share of tax and that has always been the case. The Government and, indeed, predecessors have dramatically reformed Revenue. I remember when the Revenue system was leaking, and even people had a sneaking regard for the sort of abuses that took place. That has been entirely changed....

Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: From my considerable experience in this House, the Revenue Commissioners are the most effective at identifying abuses of this nature and identifying the way in which they can resolve them, and every year they come forward with the closing down of areas where there is abuse. The idea that we need to have someone overseeing the Revenue Commissioners or some independent assessment does not...

Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: First, I express my full sympathy with the family. I have dealt with many families who are very distressed in dealing with children of this nature, trying to access services and having a clear understanding of what is available for them. The Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, has been working hard to try to improve the access to both information and service and he has applied...

Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I have to say to the Deputy that if she was serious about having the detail of this case dealt with she would not be raising it on Leaders' Questions since she knows I do not have advance notice of the issues. If she wanted to do so, she would have asked the Ceann Comhairle for special notice provision, whereby the Minister responsible could have been here to respond in detail.