Results 6,201-6,220 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

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

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to inform the Deputy that there has been no overall reduction in the number of Special Needs Assistants in our education system. The Deputy will be aware that it is necessary to ensure that educational services are delivered within the resources available due to the current fiscal position. I intend to prioritise and support special educational services. However, I cannot re-visit...

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

Ruairi Quinn: Significant support is given to schools by way of language support provision. The level of extra teaching support provided in respect of language support to any school is determined by the numbers of eligible pupils enrolled and the associated assessed levels of those pupils' language proficiency. This is done through an annual application process in the Spring-Summer of each year. My...

Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I am assuming that the Deputy is referring to the former premises of the school to which he refers. I can confirm to the Deputy that this property is not in my ownership and a technical examination completed by my Department has determined that the property is not suitable for future school accommodation. As such it is not my intention to pursue a transfer of all or part of this property to...

Written Answers — Home-School Liaison Scheme: Home-School Liaison Scheme (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that there is no curtailment to Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) Services, which is a major component of DEIS, (Delivering Equality of Opportunities in Schools), the action plan for educational inclusion. The current provision of HSCL services will remain in the 200 post primary and 345 urban primary schools participating in DEIS. The process of allocating...

Written Answers — Home-School Liaison Scheme: Home-School Liaison Scheme (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 143 and 144 together. I wish to advise the Deputy that there is no curtailment to Home-School Community Liaison (HSCL) Services, which is a major component of DEIS, (Delivering Equality of Opportunities in Schools), the action plan for educational inclusion. The current provision of HSCL services will remain in the 200 post primary and 345 urban primary...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Section 6 (1) of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 provides that the father and mother of an infant shall be guardians of the infant jointly. Section 19(2) of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 provides that a parent who has applied to enrol their child in a school may be required to provide that school with such information as may be prescribed by the Minister. The Act does not...

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

Ruairi Quinn: The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing schedule for the 2011-2012 school year was published on my Department's website in March 2011. The staffing schedule also includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: In January 2011 my Department authorised the project referred to by the Deputy to complete Stage 2(b) -Detailed Design, which includes Tender Documents, and Statutory Approvals (Planning Permission, Fire certificate and Disability Access Certificate). Upon completion of stage 2(b) the Design Team will submit same to the Department for review. Thereafter the Department will be in contact...

Written Answers — Home-School Liaison Scheme: Home-School Liaison Scheme (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The decision to remove the Rural Co-ordinator Service from 331 rural DEIS schools was a measure taken by the last Government to secure some €24 million in savings in the 2011-2012 school year. The service will therefore be discontinued with effect from 31 August 2011. I do not intend to revisit the decision of the previous Government to withdraw rural coordinator posts. The Deputy will...

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The number of persons employed by FÁS as at 27th May 2011 was 1,923.98 (full-time equivalents). The following table provides a breakdown by grade, with pay scale by grade. Pay Scale Grade FTE* Total Min. Point Max. Point(including LSI**) No. of points on scale 01 1.00 189,115.00 189,115.00 1 03 4.00 134,523.00 153,885.00 4 04 22.00 84,132.00 103,472.00 7 05 1.00 92,876.00 98,658.00...

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

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy is aware the home tuition scheme provides funding to parents to provide education at home for children who, for a number of reasons such as chronic illness, are unable to attend school. The scheme was extended in recent years to facilitate tuition for children awaiting a suitable educational placement and also to provide early educational intervention for pre-school children...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (31 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 teaching support 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 — Research Funding: Research Funding (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET) primarily funds PhD scholarships and early stage postdoctoral fellowships. Selection is on the basis of excellence following assessment by expert independent panels, whose membership is primarily international. IRCSET has in place a robust and transparent assessment protocol based on international best practice. A...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department has no record of an application for additional accommodation from the school in question. Should an application be received it will be assessed and the school authorities will be notified of the outcome. The application form concerned can be downloaded from my Department's website on www.education.ie).

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (1 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The issues raised by the Deputy relate to a school which has a surplus teacher for redeployment. The school is awaiting its National Council for Special Education-approved allocation of resource teaching hours for the 2011-12 school year. It is not possible for the school to retain its surplus teacher and she must be redeployed in the normal manner. The Department's Circular 30/2011 sets...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (1 Jun 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 — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (1 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: There is nothing to preclude any individual from making an application for a student grant. The decision on eligibility for a grant is a matter for a student's local grant awarding body – the relevant local authority or VEC. The Deputy will appreciate that in the in the absence of all of the relevant details that would be contained in an individual's application form, including those...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (1 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: It is the policy of my Department that only a teacher registered with the Teaching Council, and who has qualifications appropriate to the sector and suitable to the post for which he or she is proposed, should be employed in a school. Unregistered personnel should not be appointed except in exceptional circumstances and then only when all avenues for recruiting registered teachers have been...

Written Answers — Home-School Liaison Scheme: Home-School Liaison Scheme (1 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that there is no curtailment to Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) Services, which is a major component of DEIS, (Delivering Equality of Opportunities in Schools), the action plan for educational inclusion. The current provision of HSCL services will remain in the 200 post-primary and 345 urban primary schools participating in DEIS. The process of allocating...

Written Answers — Vocational Education Committees: Vocational Education Committees (1 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The information requested by the Deputy is not readily available in the format requested. I will arrange for the information to be collated by my Department and forwarded to the Deputy shortly.