Results 6,021-6,040 of 8,873 for speaker:Batt O'Keeffe
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 506 and 541 together. I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department is in receipt of the correspondence referred to and a response will issue in due course. The school's application for large scale capital funding has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects and assigned a band 2 rating. The...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that a contract has been placed for the new school to which he refers. I am not in a position to name the winning Contractor or the contract sum at this point due to commercial sensitivity but I can confirm that it is a multi-million euro investment by my Department in a state-of-the-art primary school facility. The successful contractor expects to commence...
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: It is open to any Board of Management to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeal Board which was originally established to adjudicate on appeals on mainstream staffing allocations in primary schools. Details of the criteria for appeal of mainstream staffing are contained in the staffing schedule, Circular 0002/2009. In light of the Budget 2009 decision my Department...
- Written Answers — School Management: School Management (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 510 and 536 together. The school to which the Deputy refers will be closing in 2012 and the intention is to establish a new post primary school in the same premises. The trustees have agreed, in principle, to enter into a lease arrangement with my Department for the existing building and site to facilitate this. Officials recently met with the Trustees and...
- Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The Trustees have agreed in principle to enter into a lease arrangement with my Department for the existing school building and site. Officials from my Department recently met with the Trustees and their legal advisers to discuss the terms and conditions of the lease. Discussions are ongoing between the Trustees and my Department with a view to concluding these matters as soon as possible.
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy will be aware, 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. My officials have been in contact with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) regarding the...
- Written Answers — School Enrolments: School Enrolments (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: An audit of school enrolment policies which looked at issues such as the enrolment of traveller children, newcomer children and children with special education needs in almost 2,000 schools at primary and post-primary level was carried out in 2007. The results were published on my Department's website in April 2008. The audit also looked at the written enrolment policies of a proportion of...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The information sought by the Deputy in relation to the school building programme is being assembled in my Department and I will arrange to have it forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible. I can confirm that 24 schools were authorised to re-tender within the last twelve months. However, to date, none of these projects has been completed.
- Written Answers — English Language Schools: English Language Schools (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: English language schools and institutions offering international education are providers of an important service for thousands of learners who wish to enhance their education. The sector is also a major contributor to the Irish economy and recent estimates put its total economic impact at around â¬500 million. It is important, therefore, that institutions offering English language courses...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy may be aware, I announced in January 2009 that the project for the school in question was to proceed to re-tender and construction. The Stage 2B (Detailed Design) submission was received by my Department from the school on the 15th of June and is currently being examined. My officials will revert to the school authorities as soon as possible regarding further progress.
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 517 and 518 together. Officials from the National Development Agency and Technical Advisors appointed for the procurement of the 3rd Bundle of schools to be delivered via Public Private Partnership met with planning officials from Wexford County Council to discuss the provision of a new post primary school on the Gorey site earlier this month. Work on the...
- Written Answers — Departmental Correspondence: Departmental Correspondence (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: In order to be assessed as an independent mature candidate, the candidate must provide the relevant assessing authority with adequate proof of independent residence from 1st October preceding their entry to an approved course. In the case of the candidate referred to by the Deputy this is 1st October 2006. While the documentation referred to by the Deputy indicates that the person was...
- Written Answers — Third Level Charges: Third Level Charges (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The student services charge is levied by third level institutions to defray the costs of examinations, registration and students services. These services may include on-campus medical and counselling facilities for students, access and disability services, careers office, student facilities, student clubs and societies etc. This charge of â¬900 for 2008/09 academic year does not represent...
- Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The agency in question, Kane Crowe Kavanagh (KCK) was appointed following a competitive tendering process to carry out an independent review of my Department's policies and procedures for the provision of temporary classroom accommodation. The review is ongoing and will, inter alia, cover an examination of the contract terms with providers to incorporate buy out, buy back, rental costs and...
- Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The school to which the Deputy refers applied to my Department for approval to re-locate to alternative accommodation for the 2009/10 school year. Following my Department's response to the initial application, the school submitted a revised proposal. This has been examined by my Department and it will be in contact with the school authority shortly with its findings.
- Written Answers — Educational Disadvantage: Educational Disadvantage (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: I take it the Deputy is referring to the Dormant Accounts-funded Small Scale ICT Scheme for schools included in DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools). In April 2007, my Department announced details of this onceâoff scheme, which was approved for support in 2007 under the Educational Disadvantage category of the Dormant Accounts Fund. Eligibility for the scheme was...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy will be aware, 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 primary and post primary schools to support children with special needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support....
- Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the application for additional accommodation from the school to which he refers has been approved. My Department is making devolved funding available to the school to meet its needs with a permanent structure. The school authorities have been notified of my Department's decision.
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: I am committed to providing information in relation to the allocation of teachers to schools and as a new feature on my Department's website. The process has begun with the provision earlier this year of initial information on the allocation of mainstream classroom teachers to primary schools under the revised schedule for 2009/10. In terms of the position at individual primary school level...
- Written Answers — Departmental Advertising: Departmental Advertising (23 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The information requested by the Deputy is being compiled and will be forwarded to him as soon as possible.