Results 3,241-3,260 of 8,873 for speaker:Batt O'Keeffe

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (29 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: As part of the expansion of the Small Schools Scheme, a grant of € 380,000.00 was sanctioned to enable the school in question to extend and modernise the school building. The scheme is not intended to leave schools with significant fundraising needs; rather the terms of the Scheme require the schools to tailor the scope of capital works commissioned to the available funding. The decision...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (29 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants to schools to support children with special needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. All schools have the names and...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (29 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants to schools to support children with special needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. All schools have the names and...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (30 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 234 to 237, inclusive, and 241 together. My Department has had ongoing communications with Meath County Council to discuss a range of issues including the issue in question. As the Deputy is aware my Department acquired a site for a post-primary school under the Redress Scheme. My Department carried out technical inspections on both the redress site and the...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (30 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: The development of multi-school campus arrangements is a stated policy of my Department where conditions are such that this can be achieved. A number of factors have to be taken into account before such arrangements could proceed such as overall accommodation requirements in a centre or area, availability and size of site, value for money, planning permission etc. It is expected that these...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (30 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 239, 240 and 242 together. My Department has had ongoing communications with Meath County Council to discuss a range of issues relating to the proposed school development. As the Deputy is aware, my Department acquired a site for a post-primary school under the Redress Scheme. The technical report in relation to this site deemed the size and location of the...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (30 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants to schools to support children with special needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. I have arranged for the details...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (30 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: The school to which the Deputy refers applied to my Department in 1999 for additional accommodation. At a meeting with the Department at that time, the school proposed a greenfield site solution to its accommodation needs because the existing site could not facilitate the extent of extra accommodation needed. A technical examination of the site confirmed this position. As a result, the...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (30 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 245, 246, 247, 248, 255 and 256 together. The specific information requested by the Deputy in relation to the detailed staffing allocation of the schools in question for the academic year 2009/10 cannot be determined until the allocation process has fully concluded. There is nothing exceptional in this. The allocation process includes appellate mechanisms...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (30 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Deputy will be aware that the following sections of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act have been commenced — 1, 2, 14(1)(a), 14(1)(c), 14(2) to 14(4), 19 to 37 and 40 to 53. These sections are mainly concerned with the establishment of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and with promoting an inclusive approach to the education of...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (30 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: As I previously informed the Deputy the school in question applied for funding for replacement of windows under the emergency works scheme. However, in light of the large number of projects seeking funding under this scheme from the budget allocated, it was not possible to provide funding to the school at the time. It is open to the school authorities to re-apply for funding for these works...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (30 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: My Department received an application for emergency funding from the school in question. This application is currently under consideration and a decision will be reached very shortly. The school authorities will be notified of the outcome as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Price Increases: Price Increases (30 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: The information requested is not readily available in my Department and is currently being compiled. I will arrange to forward the information to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (30 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: Notwithstanding the increase of €302 million in the education budget for 2009, which is a real achievement in the current economic climate, a number of tough and difficult decisions had to be taken. These decisions included reducing the level of language support teachers from a maximum of six extra teachers per school to a maximum of two teachers per school, as was the case before 2007....

Written Answers — Educational Disadvantage: Educational Disadvantage (30 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: Notwithstanding the increase of €302 million in the Education budget for 2009, which is a real achievement in the current economic climate, a number of tough and difficult decisions had to be taken. These decisions included reductions on the aid for school books scheme which in the case of schools outside of the DEIS scheme will involve savings of approximately €7.5 million on current...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (30 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: Notwithstanding the increase of €302 million in the Education budget for 2009, which is a real achievement in the current economic climate, a number of tough and difficult decisions had to be taken. These decisions included the withdrawal of substitution cover for absences on uncertified sick leave in primary and second level schools including Vocational Education Committees and the...

Written Answers — Computerisation Programme: Computerisation Programme (30 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy will be aware, I published the ICT Strategy Group Report, Investing Effectively in ICT in Schools 2008-2013, together with the evaluation report undertaken by my Department's Inspectorate, ICT in Schools, in July. While acknowledging the progress made since the ICT in Schools Programme was first launched some ten years ago with some €200m having been invested since its...

Written Answers — School Libraries: School Libraries (30 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: Notwithstanding the increase of €302 million in the Education budget for 2009, which is a real achievement in the current economic climate, a number of tough and difficult decisions had to be taken. These decisions included the decision to discontinue the funding that the Department made available to local authorities to support school library services. The amount of the grant payable to...

Written Answers — Capitation Grants: Capitation Grants (30 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: Notwithstanding the increase of €302 million in the Education budget for 2009, which is a real achievement in the current economic climate, a number of tough and difficult decisions had to be taken. These decisions included reducing the enhanced capitation funding paid to schools in respect of traveller pupils enrolled. This measure will involve savings of approximately €1.2 million on...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (30 Oct 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: The specific information requested by the Deputy in relation to the detailed staffing allocation of the schools in question for the academic year 2009/10 cannot be determined until the allocation process has fully concluded. There is nothing exceptional in this. The allocation process includes appellate mechanisms under which schools can appeal against the allocation due to them under the...