Results 6,081-6,100 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (18 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy 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 (SNAs) to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. This now...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (18 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that Special Schools funded by my Department are intended to cater for children and young persons with special educational needs from 4 years until the end of the school year in which they reach their 18th year. At that point, the Department of Health and Children/Health Service Executive assumes direct responsibility for young adults with special educational needs...

Written Answers — Departmental Funding: Departmental Funding (18 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Education Centre network plays a key part in the overall provision of continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers, and in this context my Department provides funding to education centres in respect of core budget, local courses, and, where a centre is the host location for a national CPD support programme, for the administration and operation of the programme in question. The...

Written Answers — School Registration Fees: School Registration Fees (18 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: It is a fundamental principal of the free post-primary education scheme that no charge is made in respect of instruction in any subject of my Department's programme for Secondary Schools; recreation or study facilities where all the pupils are expected to avail themselves of these as part of the school programme; any other activities in which all pupils are required to take part. The...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (18 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No 2) Act 2009 provided the legal basis for a reduction in public servants pay, effective from 1 January 2010, while Section 3 provided that the reduction in pay under the Act would be disregarded for the purpose of calculating the public servant's pension and lump sum for those who retired in 2010. The period of disregard was later...

Written Answers — Vocational Education Committees: Vocational Education Committees (18 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 104, 105 and 111 together. The previous government decided to reduce the number of VECs from 33 to 16 and on the merger of particular counties. I am anxious to ensure that progress continues to be made in the work on bringing about a reduction in the number of VECs. The IVEA has recently responded to my invitation to them to submit alternative rationalisation...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (18 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Firstly, I wish to advise the Deputy that Special Needs Assistant (SNA) allocations are not permanent, as the level of SNA support allocated to a school may be increased or decreased as pupils who qualify for SNA support enrol or leave a school. They are also decreased where a child's care needs may have diminished over time. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible,...

Written Answers — Teacher Training: Teacher Training (18 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) are currently in the process of developing a new website for the organisation. In September 2010, the PDST was created as a result of the reconfiguration of a number of services to provide a coordinated response to training needs of teachers at primary and post primary level. The current website is a temporary holding page providing...

Written Answers — Teacher Training: Teacher Training (18 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) is a team of seconded teachers, which offers professional development support to primary and post-primary teachers and schools on a wide range of topics. The service was established in September 2010, following a reconfiguration of the support services in existence prior to that date, and 2011 is their first full year of operation. The...

Written Answers — Institutes of Technology: Institutes of Technology (18 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I am aware of recent steps taken by the Governing Body of Waterford Institute of Technology to commission an external review of spending incurred by the Presidents office at the institute. I understand that this has been considered at a recent meeting of the institute's Governing Body.The Higher Education Authority has now sought a report from the institute on the issues that gave rise to the...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (18 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that the decision to withdraw Resource Teacher for Travellers was taken by the previous Government as part of the last Budget. The requirement to make expenditure savings and to ensure that staffing numbers remain within the Public Service Employment Control Framework prevent me from re-visiting this decision. Resource Teacher for Traveller posts/Teaching Hours...

Written Answers — Teacher Training: Teacher Training (18 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Access to the profession of teaching in recognised schools in Ireland is regulated. The Teaching Council is the designated Competent Authority for the regulation of the profession. The Council requires that all primary teachers successfully complete probation in order to achieve full registration (registration without conditions). The Inspectorate of my Department evaluates the...

Written Answers — Traveller Education: Traveller Education (18 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that the decision to withdraw Resource Teacher for Travellers was taken by the previous Government as part of the last Budget. The requirement to make expenditure savings and to ensure that staffing numbers remain within the Public Service Employment Control Framework prevent me from re-visiting this decision. Resource Teacher for Traveller posts/Teaching Hours...

Written Answers — Teacher Training: Teacher Training (18 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Teaching Council is responsible for the regulation of the teaching profession in the State in relation to, inter alia, the recognition and registration of teachers, and the accreditation of programmes of initial teacher education. As the Deputy may be aware, the following colleges are currently recognised for the provision of initial teacher education for primary teachers in the State:...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (18 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I can inform the Deputy that all primary and post primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA) which is administered by NEPS. Assessments are commissioned by the school authorities under the scheme and not directly by...

Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy (19 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: As the senior Deputy for Dublin South-East, I wish to extend first and foremost my sympathy to the family and the Fine Gael Party, and to tell the House that I first met Dr. Garret FitzGerald in the 1960s when he was a junior lecturer in the economic section and I was a probably fairly obnoxious architectural student in UCD. The first occupation of a university on this island took place in...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (19 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm that the school referred to by the Deputy applied for funding under the 2011 Summer Works Scheme. A list of 453 successful schools was announced on 30 March 2011. Applications from schools for gas, mechanical and electrical works were prioritised under the Summer Works Scheme funding this year and I regret that the application made by the school in question was not selected....

Written Answers — School Management: School Management (19 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Under the provisions of the Education Act 1998 the Board of Management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school. It is important that the school management authority requests parents to ensure that the school is made aware of any medical condition suffered by any pupil attending. Where the school is aware of potential difficulties that may arise as a consequence of a...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (19 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy 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 SNAs to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. This now includes a requirement for...

Written Answers — State Examinations: State Examinations (19 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations including organising the holding of examinations, determining procedures in places where examinations are conducted including the supervision of examinations and making arrangements for the marking of work presented for examination. In view of this I have forwarded...