Results 5,581-5,600 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Moriarty Tribunal Report: Statements (Resumed) (30 Mar 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I will be as fast as I can. I wish to put on record of the House the extent of my involvement in dealing with the Tribunal of Inquiry into Payments to Politicians and Related Matters carried out by Mr. Justice Moriarty. Chapter 48 of the report is the section which is of most personal interest to me. It retraces, in an exact and comprehensive manner, the events leading up and including...

School Staffing (30 Mar 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank Deputy Murphy for raising this issue as it gives me an opportunity to clarify the position on the matter raised by her which is of considerable importance, especially for those directly involved. 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...

School Enrolments (30 Mar 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to address the provision of second level school places in Midleton and the east Cork area. I have a script and I will give it to the Deputy, but let me talk to him frankly. We have a serious crisis in education. There is a population cohort coming through our primary school system that is now beginning to manifest itself in the second level...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (30 Mar 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The process of allocating teaching resources to schools for 2011/2012 and the arrangements for filling vacant or new teaching posts takes place in the context of the EU-IMF Programme of Support for Ireland and the Public Service Agreement 2010/2014. It is necessary for my Department to exercise additional control and reporting measures this year to ensure that the numbers of teachers...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (30 Mar 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: 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 educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. I have arranged for the details supplied to be...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (30 Mar 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy may be aware my Department has met on several occasions with both the GAA club and Dublin City Council, in their respective capacities as the land-holders and as the planning authority to negotiate with both parties an acceptable solution for the provision of a new school building on the site currently occupied by the school. The net result of these discussions was that after...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (30 Mar 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: A significant number of measures are currently in place to enable registered redundant apprentices to progress in their apprenticeships. Under the apprenticeship programme administered by FÁS, the rules for off-the-job training have been amended to permit redundant apprentices to progress to their next off-the-job training phases. To date in 2011, 714 apprentices, registered as redundant,...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (30 Mar 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that officials in my Department have conducted technical inspections of two properties at the request of the school authorities. A preferred option has been identified and a meeting has been sought with the land owner to progress the matter further.

Written Answers — Departmental Schemes: Departmental Schemes (30 Mar 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm that the school adjoining the village hall referred to by the Deputy has submitted an application for works under the 2011 Summer Works Scheme. Applications for funding under the scheme have been processed in my Department and I will be making an announcement in relation to the outcome of this process this afternoon. Schools authorities will be notified, in writing, of the...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (30 Mar 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The acquisition of a suitable site and the delivery of a new school building for the school referred to by the Deputy will be considered in the context of existing commitments and other competing demands on the Department's capital budget. This position has been communicated by my Department to the school authority. I am not in a position at this stage to say when this acquisition will be...

Written Answers — Physical Education Facilities: Physical Education Facilities (30 Mar 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware, that the Chief State Solicitor's Office have advised my Department that they recently forwarded a draft lease in relation to the former Greendale Community School Campus including the sports hall facility to the solicitors acting for the City of Dublin VEC. The Deputy might note that before this lease is agreed, it is intended to draw up a side agreement in relation...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (30 Mar 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy will be aware, my Department is engaged in the process of acquiring a suitable site and to this end has applied for planning permission as part of the exchange of contracts. Following receipt of a request for further information relating to the planning application submitted, my Department has met with the planning authority and I am advised that the Department's response...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (31 Mar 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm that the school referred to by the Deputy submitted an application for external works under the 2011 Summer Works Scheme. Unfortunately, due to the scale of demand for funding under the scheme, it was not possible to grant aid all applications. As outlined in the Circular governing the operation of the scheme, applications for works in the higher categories were prioritised...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (31 Mar 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The standardisation of the staffing schedule for Gaelscoileanna so that it is the same as that which applies to primary schools generally is one of a number of measures in Budget 2011 to control and reduce teacher numbers. These changes are effective from September 2011. Given the financial constraints in which this country now finds itself, it is not possible to reverse these changes. The...

Written Answers — State Examinations: State Examinations (31 Mar 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations including organising the holding of examinations and determining procedures in places where examinations are conducted including the supervision of examinations. I can inform the Deputy that the Commission operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations in the...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (31 Mar 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: 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 (SNAs) to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. The NCSE has issued a circular to all...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (31 Mar 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The process of allocating teaching resources to schools for 2011/2012 and the arrangements for filling vacant or new teaching posts takes place in the context of the EU/IMF Programme of Support for Ireland and the Public Service Agreement 2010/2014. My Department is aware of the issues which have been raised by the Deputy. However, the overriding imperative is that all the surplus permanent...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (5 Apr 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Royal Irish Academy is an All-Ireland, independent academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. Its mission is inter alia to promote excellence in scholarship, organise lectures, conferences, academic exchanges and visiting fellowships, manage national research and publication projects and publish academic journals etc. The Academy is funded through...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (5 Apr 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm that the schools referred to by the Deputy submitted applications to my Department for funding under the 2011 Summer Works Scheme. Unfortunately, due to the scale of demand for funding under the scheme, it was not possible to grant aid all applications. As outlined in the Circular governing the operation of the scheme, applications for works in the higher categories were...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (5 Apr 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The main focus in the Teacher Allocation Section within my Department at present is the redeployment panels for permanent teachers. When this process is completed my Department will then be working on supplementary panels for fixed-term teachers. The supplementary panels will recognize as appropriate, substitute service in respect of maternity leave.Such teachers are advised to contact my...